Swiss Cottage

Swiss Cottage is an early 19th-century estate cottage, located on Whitewell Lane in Selattyn and Gobowen. It is also known as Brogyntyn Cottage. The cottage is built of rendered limestone rubble, with a 2-span gable-front slate roof to the front. A 3-sided verandah extends to the rear. The verandah is constructed of wooden posts, some retaining bark, and sits on padstones around a central, pyramidal block of brick and rubble with quartzite facing, and a slate roof. The architectural style is rustic Gothic. The front section rises two storeys, while the rear is single-storied. The front has a mid-20th century casement window on each floor to each gable, a 4-panel door (now with glazed upper panels) and a segmental-headed overlight sheltered by a late-19th century gabled hood. A purple engineering brick valley stack is situated at the rear, where it joins the rear range. The cobbled verandah features an arcade of 3 bays, each with pointed arches; corner posts have been replaced with 20th-century rendered brick pillars. The ceiling of the verandah has quadripartite vaulting, with branches acting as ribs, wooden bosses, and halved timbers as infill. There is a nail-studded door with a pointed arch on the right side, providing access to a small room with a vaulted plastered ceiling, featuring a quatrefoil pattern and a foliated boss. The interior of the octagonal room appears octagonal in plan, with elaborate plaster vaulting springing from slender clustered columns with stiff-leaf capitals and foliated bosses. Pointed arched openings are present on each face, with crocketed ogee finials; those in the centre and front feature stained glass windows, while the others incorporate inset bookcases. One bookcase, located in the rear left corner, contains a complete set of false 'books,' many with titles relating to the building's concealed location and romantic character. These bookcases open outwards, providing access to the space behind the octagonal walls and to the roof space. A Perpendicular-style marble fireplace with quatrefoils in the spandrels is set within an opening to the back wall. A suspended wooden floor is present. A plaster boss is visible on the ceiling of the rear right-hand room of the front part of the cottage. Local tradition suggests the octagonal room was used for clandestine romantic assignations in the 19th century.