The European Count who lived in Rhiwbina
Oct
Many local people know about the Booker family and their connections with Velindre and the Melingriffith Tinplate works. How many I wonder, know about Count de Lucovich – real name Antonio Leonardo Trifone and his family, who also lived locally.
Antonio had been born into a very distinguished family who lived on the Adriatic coast of what is today Montenegro, and inherited the title ‘Count de Lucovich’ from his grandfather. Knighted by King Francis Joseph 1st of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Antonio became a Knight of the Order of the Iron Crown, a knight of the Order of Franz Joseph the First, and an Admiral of the Noble Corps of the Bacchese Marines.
Antonio was born about 1832 but decided to leave his country as a young man to pursue a commercial profession in the UK and moved to Cardiff. He established a coal and metal exporting business in partnership with his brother, who remained on the Adriatic.
Antonio, Count de Lucovich, married Isabella Maude Dawkin in Cardiff in 1876 and they lived first on Penhill, in Llandaff and then later at Ty’n-y-Parc in Whitchurch where they raised a family of four children.
The house gave name to the (now) busy road of Ty’n-y-Parc Road. Long demolished, Ty’n-y-Parc was an ancient farm, just along from the Tesco petrol station and opposite Upper Ty’n-y-Parc Terrace. In the nineteenth century, it was a very elegant place indeed and considered to be a fine ‘Gentleman’s Residence’.
Ernie Broad in his well-loved article ‘Whitchurch from End to End’ describes Ty’n-y-Parc thus:
‘There was a very large stone archway. From this archway ran a high wall as far as Pantbach Road. The archway led to a very large farmhouse and stable. The tenant was a Russian (sic) noble, Count Lucovitch. I saw the count and his sister ride to hounds many times and they made a magnificent pair.’
Perhaps the Count was one of the gentlemen on their horses with the hunt outside the Fox and Hounds in the well-known local photograph!
The Count clearly had done well and moved in grand circles. In an article of the South Wales Daily News of 8th January 1893, it describes how he had a marble bust of himself carved by a well-known Genoese sculptor and how it was on display in a swanky shop in the centre of Cardiff. I wonder what happened to the bust.
However, we’ve found a fantastic photograph of the Count though, sporting a most wonderful beard; the sort of beard that would give even Edward Lear a run-for-his-money!
Denise, from the AWEN Reminiscence group, has found a map of Ty’n-y-Parc Farm. The farm fields were extensive and ran south as far as Birchgrove; ideal for a horse-loving Adriatic Count.
An extract of the map, showing the house, stables and the gardens back in the mid-1800s, gives a flavour of the property. As Ernie Broad remembers, it must have been splendid in its time.
We still don’t know what the house looked like, but Megan, who lives locally has found a very early photograph of Ty’n-y-Parc Road with what looks like Ty’n-y-Parc in the distance. All very intriguing, and worth exploring further.
Antonio retired in 1909 and left the business to his son Oscar. Sadly, Antonio died only two years later and is buried in Cathays Cemetery. He has a very imposing memorial there, complete with a huge stone cross and plinth, embossed with the family coat of arms. His son Oscar inherited the title.
I often wondered what happened to the family. Thankfully, Lynne from the Rhiwbina Local History Group has provided us with a little more information:
‘Tony Lucovich was (probably) a grandson of Antonio, and lived with his wife Isabel Mary, known to all as Molly at Llan Farm in Lisvane. In the 1970s, this was a thirteen-acre smallholding with a modest bungalow, a range of stables, and a traditional stone barn. Tony regularly rode with the Tredegar Hunt, from the farm until his fifties – clearly horse-riding and hunting must have been in the family genes! Grandson Tony died around the year 2000 and is also buried in Cathays Cemetery. His wife Molly died in 2022, just a few weeks short of her one hundredth birthday.’
Lynne explained that a year or so ago, Llan Farm, which by then was in a very sad state, with the bungalow quite dilapidated, was put up for sale. New owners, we understand, have great plans for the place. Watch this space!
So, an Adriatic Count and his family, living in a forgotten – and now demolished – ‘Gentleman’s Residence’, right on our doorstep. And yet, hardly anyone knows the story!
Nigel Lewis is a member of AWEN@thelibrary (awen.cymru@gmail;com) and now a member of the Rhiwbina Local History Group, meeting at the Rhiwbina Hub
Nigel says that a basket has been lodged at the reception desk at the Hub for any local stories or photographs that folk might like to share
