Chestal House

Chestal House is a large country house dating from 1848, designed by Lewis Vulliamy for James Phelps. It is constructed of coursed and squared limestone with ashlar dressings and chimneys, and has a Welsh slate roof. The architectural style is Jacobethan. Originally an L-shaped building, a two-storey north wing was demolished in the 20th century.

The main (south) facade is symmetrical with three windows, featuring a large expanse of glazing. All windows are mullioned and transomed with narrow sashes, with an 8-light window at the centre. Flanking the central window are two-storey canted bay windows, topped with parapets and shaped parapet gables to the attic, behind which are pyramidal stone finials. Continuous moulded string courses run along the facade. The west entrance facade is asymmetrical and includes a parapet-gabled porch with a 4-centred archway and a hood mould. The coat-of-arms of the Carpenter family is displayed above the archway. A gable end on the south front has a 3-light mullioned window to the ground floor, alongside a pair of octagonal, moulded ridge chimneys. To the left of the porch is a 3-light window to the ground floor, with a 2-light window above and a further 2-light window to the attic, set under a shaped parapet half gable. The elevation extends to the left with a single-storey block with a 3-light sash window under a parapet gable.

The east elevation is also asymmetrical, with mullioned and transomed windows. A section of the elevation projects forward, with a parapet gable to the right and a tower rising above the roof line, terminating in a square, open-topped, octagonal, buttressed top stage featuring a single open round-headed arch on each face. A single-storey canted bay window with a hipped roof sits to the right of the tower. The elevation continues with 2-light mullioned upper floor sashes and a single 3-light attic sash within a half parapet gable. A cluster of six chimneys is positioned to the right of this projecting gable. The north elevation has been altered due to the demolition of the north wing, and it now comprises various gables, stepped parapets, and paired eaves-mounted chimney stacks.

Inside, the house is dominated by a fine staircase with pineapple finials on the newel posts, leading to an octagonal-ended hall. The library features a panelled ceiling and original painted and wallpaper decoration, alongside Gothic revival fireplaces. A contemporary sundial is located in the garden to the south. Unusual, exotic garden buildings are also present (see Cam CP).