Remains of former Plas Berw

The old house was rectangular in plan with a central hall, kitchens and buttery at the E end (divided from the hall by screens) and solar to the W. A 3-storey building was erected at the S side of the solar in late C16, and between 1650 and 1750 a wall was built dividing the hall from this part of the house; these form the most substantial remains of the old house, standing to their full height. Other walls have been reduced down to low walling and foundations, but remains of the N wall are incorporated in the S courtyard wall of the later house. Walls are of local rubble, predominantly gritstone, with massive quoins and sandstone dressings. The walls of the late C16 building built at the S end of the solar stand to their full height; a gable stack at the S end and a tall dressed stack at the SE corner. The S wall has a blocked, square-headed doorway with massive stone jambs and lintel. The S, E and W walls have scattered fenestration of rectangular windows of one or more lights; all with dressed surrounds with quarter-round moulded jambs and heads. The N wall (S solar wall) has a segmental-headed doorway with chamfered jambs at the E end, another doorway at the W end has lost its dressings, and above that is a first floor doorway with dressed jambs and rubble head. The dividing wall between hall and solar is set at right angles to the NW corner of the late C16 building which also stands to full height with rubble bellcote at apex and a ground floor central doorway (now without dressings). The S wall of the courtyard incorporates parts of the remains of the old house; to the W end is the original segmental-headed doorway (to the screens); E of the doorway is the hall window, a rectangular frame, with hoodmould, containing the remains of 3 cinquefoil lights (now blocked); E of the hall window is the head and pointed pediment of an early C17 window (inserted by Thomas Holland whose initials appear in the tympanum).