until they left in 1951. After 1951 the house was bought by the Catholic Church as a convent school with boarders, later St. Joseph's Roman Catholic School. It was bought by the Newport Corporation Council in 1974, giving rise to its then status as "the grandest council house in Britain". In December 2011 the National Trust signed an agreement with Newport City Council to take on the management of the building, as well as the 90 acres of gardens and parkland, on a 50-year lease from 2012. The Trust said that Tredegar House was of "great importance" as many similar properties had been lost in the past 100 years. The National Trust provide free-flow access to the house, but have closed parts of the upstairs to the public. Filming and events The House has been used as a filming location on several occasions. In 2014 an episode of the Antiques Roadshow was filmed at the property and the house's red brick exterior now features in the programme's opening sequence. The television series Being Human, Da Vinci's Demons and The Hairy Bikers have all used the house as a location. Since the programme was revived in 2005, many episodes of Doctor Who have used Tredegar House for location filming, including the 2008 Christmas special "The Next Doctor" and the 2009/2010 Christmas/New Year special "The End of Time". The House plays host to many events throughout the year, including an Easter Egg Hunt, Pirate's Day, August Bank Holiday 1930s Garden Party, Halloween and Christmas, which is themed around Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. There are also daily talks, activities and special tours for visitors. An annual Folk Festival is held in May. The House is approved for marriages and civil ceremonies and the Morgan Room may be hired for private functions. For many years an annual vintage car rally was held in the grounds in order to raise funds for Leukaemia Research. The first rally was held in October 1980 and raised £635. The 34th and final rally was held in September 2014 and raised £80,000, bringing the total amount raised since 1980 to £868,000. See also Ruperra Castle Evan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar Godfrey Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar Tredegar Square, London E3 Sir Charles Gould Morgan, 2nd Baron Tredegar Notes References External links Official site Tredegar House – City of Newport site Friends of Tredegar House Doctor Who at Tredegar House