Woodland House, Llanyblodwel

Woodland House, Llanyblodwel

A house of probable late-Georgian date, converted to use as a vicarage in phases between 1845 and 1857 to the designs of the vicar, Reverend John Parker. It reverted to use as a private house in the 1980s.

The house is built of Gault brick with stone dressings and a slate roof. It comprises two storeys and a cellar, with the main block running north-south and a service wing at the southern end extending to the east.

The entrance front faces east and features an E-shaped composition, with a porch wing flanked by projecting wings, all crowned with shaped gables of moulded bricks. Panels of projecting bricks ornament the centre of the gables, and a hood mould with Tudor arch marks the doorway. Windows are wooden-framed sashes. To the left of these five bays is an entrance lobby with Tudor arch and a wide ground floor window. The projecting service wing at far left has a blind gable end with central projecting stack. Its north flank displays two three-light ground-floor windows with chamfered mullions, and at first floor level a two-light gabled dormer with moulded coping bearing the date '1845'.

The south flank displays two paired shaped gables, with the service wing projecting at right and featuring a similar gabled dormer to that on its north flank.

The north flank has two bays. The bay at right is defined by buttresses with offsets to the far right corner and to right of centre, each buttress bearing colonettes at its corners with carved foliate heads. At left is a gabled bay projecting slightly, with two lights divided by a chamfered mullion at ground floor and a plate glass window to the first floor with simple traceried head. Above this window is a segmental hood mould with carved label stops. Rainwater heads flanking the gable both bear the date '1852'. The bay at right features a projecting corbel at ground floor level carved with a stag head in relief, with a small lancet window above.

The west front, overlooking the terrace and gardens down to the River Tanat, has a projecting gabled wing at right with shaped gable and star pattern of raised brick. A recessed bay to the right of this contains a three-bay ground floor window and a cross window to the first floor. To the left is another recessed bay housing a conservatory at ground floor with a cross window above. Further left is a staircase window at mezzanine level, and at far left a projecting drawing room wing with buttresses with offsets to each corner. This wing has a three-light mullioned window to each floor. Above the ground floor window an inscription reads 'BEGUN:1852:COMPLETED:1857'. The first floor window has a central light with pointed head flanked by two lights with round heads, surmounted by a heavy hood mould with deeply-carved attached bosses.

Chimneys across the roofs are of cut and moulded brick, surviving to their full original height.

A battlemented garden wall extends from the far left corner of the house on its north side, approximately 50 feet in length at a height of 10 feet, then reduces to 4 feet and extends for approximately another 50 feet. An arched gateway is set into the wall, inscribed on its east side 'IN:THE:YEAR:OF:OUR:LORD:1853' and on its west side 'SALVATION BELONGETH TO THE LORD'.

Internally, the ground floor service rooms at the southern end have clay tiled floors and whitewashed or painted brick walls. Both staircases are dogleg, fitted with stick balusters and mahogany handrails. Ceiling roses and cornices have been inserted on both floors and all fire surrounds are replacements of lost originals. The drawing room features a panelled ceiling with stone corbels supporting arched and cusped braces which connect to the ceiling beams. Joinery displays Parker's idiosyncratic style, with sinuous lines and large-scale dogtooth ornament. Stencilled ornament survives on the spandrels of the arch crossing the room, similar to that found in Llanyblodwel church. Similar joinery appears in the principal bedroom above the drawing room.

The 20th-century conservatory attached to the western side of the house is not of special architectural or historic interest.