This beautiful old house is where the BikeBrothers were born, Nic in 1958 and Andy in 1960. Cefn Ila house has a long and colourful history, it once belonged to one Edward Trelawney who was a close friend of Shelly and Byron. The house was destroyed by fire in 1973. One of our main cycling routes home from Usk 'the Traditional' takes past the site of where Cefn Ila once stood and we often stop and look across the fields towards the place of our birth.

The house that we know as Cefn Ila Maternity Hospital was built on the site of an earlier Cefn Ila house. Joseph Lister had the Cefn Ila rebuilt in the late 1800’s, he also made various improvements to the estate, this work was carried out by architect Alfred Waterhouse (July19, 1830 – August 22, 1905). Joseph Lister died in 1885 in a riding accident. The house and estate was sold by Lister’s widow. By the turn of the 20th century the house belonged to Gerard Gustavus Ducarel, the 4th Marquis de la Pasture who had escaped with his family from France during the revolution.

In 1925 Cefn Ila was annexed to Pontypool Hospital, it provided a convalescent home for 24 women and children. By 1939, due to the 2nd world war, it was used as a sick bay for children evacuated to the area from London and other cities. In 1947 Cefn Ila was brought back into service by Pontypool Hospital as a maternity home with accommodation for 18 patients, in 1948 it was taken over by the National Health Service, continuing as a Maternity Unit. Cefn Ila Maternity Hospital closed on 3rd September 1973 and it's patients transferred to the County Hospital in Griffithstown, near Pontypool.

During the early hours of Friday 14th September 1973 fire broke out in Cefn Ila, the time of outbreak and the remote location of the house ensured that the fire had a good hold before the arrival of the fire brigade, there was also restricted access for the fire engines a lack of water for fire fighting which made things worse. The fire consumed everything except the shell of the house.

Today nothing remains of this once grand house except the stable block and the overgrown walled garden, the house itself was demolished and nature has now reclaimed the site.