Swyddfa'r Cyngor

Swyddfa'r Cyngor

A T-shaped building in severe Gothic style, comprising a long north-south range and an east-west range that forms the stem of the T and incorporates the main entrance to Shirehall Street. Outer wings face Shirehall Street and were formerly linked to the main building by perimeter walls. The main ranges are mostly two storeys with cells in the basement, built of snecked stone with slate roof, ridge vents, and a central octagonal lantern with pyramidal roof.

The east-west range is three storeys and three bays to the street, constructed of cyclopean rubble stone with rock-faced dressings and quoins, under a hipped roof on moulded stone eaves with brick stacks to right and left. The central bay is recessed. The central bay features double half-lit doors with cusped and leaded lights and iron straps, flanked by half-shafts and glazed side panels. A pointed arch over the door has a large quatrefoil flanked by smaller quatrefoils in the tympanum, while the side panels have similar pointed arches with pointed trefoils in the tympanum. The middle storey has a three-light mullioned window with triangular-headed lights and small roundels in the tympanum of a shallow segmental arch. The upper storey contains a two-light window, similar to the outer bays. The outer bays have in the lower storey three-light mullioned windows with shoulder-headed lights incorporating zig-zag decoration and under a shallow segmental arch. In the middle and upper storeys are similar but smaller two-light windows, beneath the eaves in the upper storey. Windows incorporate two-pane sashes.

The two-window right side wall has two-pane sashes in dressed surrounds with lintels, except the middle-storey left-hand window which has a shouldered head to a zig-zag lintel and beneath a segmental arch. The right-hand windows are set at a different level, with only a small window in the lower storey, where there is an additional window centrally placed. The left side wall is similar but on its right side the middle and upper-storey windows have been replaced by a doorway to metal escape stairs.

Behind the entrance the main east-west range is narrower, lower, and has windows mainly replaced in original lintelled openings. On the right (north) side are three windows and an infilled former opening on the left side. The upper-storey windows, lighting a former council chamber, are Tudor-headed and have coloured glass in metal glazing bars. The basement has two small-pane iron-framed windows and a panelled door to the right. The left (south) side wall has similar detail.

The main north-south range has coped gables on moulded kneelers and a stone eaves cornice with nail-head frieze, and on the north side has two brick stacks to its rear slope and a brick stack to the east slope on the south side. The east wall has six windows either side of the east-west range. Windows in lower and upper storeys are replaced in original lintelled openings and are single-light windows except for a two-light mullioned window set back from the inner end in the upper storey. The basement retains original arched cell windows with iron bars in front of iron-frame glazing. The north gable end has iron-framed glazing to a double-height four-light mullioned and transomed window with round-headed lights and beneath a relieving arch. In the lower storey the centre lights are replaced by an inserted door under a canopy. In the gable is a small barred opening on the right side, while on the left side is a link to an office block of 1983. The basement has a central doorway and a two-light mullioned window to the right, of which the right-hand light retains small-pane glazing.

The rear (west) has seven windows on the north side and eight windows on the south side of a central projection. It has windows replaced in original openings similar to the front, original cell windows on the north side, where there is also a blocked former window in the right-hand bay, and replaced cell windows on the south side. The higher central five-sided projection has a swept hipped roof on a moulded cornice. The outer facets have arched lights with iron glazing bars, except the south side which has narrow lintelled openings with replaced windows, while the centre has three-light windows. The basement has a two-light mullioned window with small-pane iron-frame glazing. The facets right and left of centre have lintelled windows (blocked to the left) and there is a doorway to the right side. On the right (south) side of the projection the main range has a Tudor-headed basement window at the left end. The south gable end is similar to the north, but has a doorway inserted in the lower storey, while in the upper storey is an inserted doorway and link to a detached later wing.

On the right (north) side of the main entrance is a two-and-a-half-storey outer wing linked to the main building by the office block of 1983. Its front comprises a gabled bay on the left side and narrower entrance bay set back to the right under a hipped roof. The front is cyclopean granite with bands of darker stone and freestone dressings. Side and rear walls are of snecked stone. The slate roof is on moulded stone eaves and behind coped gables on moulded kneelers in the left-hand bay. Two brick stacks have stone caps. The entrance bay has a boarded door with overlight. In the left-hand bay are two-light mullioned windows with shouldered lintels incorporating two-pane sashes. The attic window has an arched head. The left side wall has four-pane sash windows offset to the left side. A lower hipped rear wing, set back from the left side wall, has two four-pane sash windows in the lower storey and a small two-pane sash window upper right. A narrow opening to the left is obscured by the addition of the office block.

A similar two-and-a-half-storey wing is on the left (south) side. It has a gabled bay left and entrance bay set back to the right. The entrance bay has a fielded-panel door with plain overlight, under a shouldered lintel and segmental arch. In the upper storey is a two-pane sash window with shouldered lintel. The gabled bay has two-light mullioned windows with shouldered heads and relieving arches, incorporating two-pane sashes. A single attic sash window has a pointed head. The left side wall has a two-pane sash window offset to the right of an attached later office wing. At the rear is a lower gabled wing with ridge ventilator and a hipped lean-to on the north side. The wing is attached to the east-west range by a convex coped and banded wall to a recessed courtyard doorway. The round-headed doorway is beneath a gable.

The entrance leads into a vestibule with corbelled ceiling and steps up to half-lit pointed panel doors. A long corridor in the east-west wing has panelled doors. At the junction of the east-west and north-south wings is an imperial stair with iron balustrade and wooden handrail that continues to the landing. The stairwell is top-lit by means of a lantern. In the upper storey panelled doors with glazed side panels lead to the main wings, which have boarded undersides to collar beam roofs. The basement is brick vaulted. The north-south wing has two parallel corridors leading to original cells on the outer sides. On the north side of the centre are six cells each side, with an iron gate retained at the west entrance of the corridor. On the north side the cells mostly retain metal doors with small elliptical peep holes, some of which also retain original iron grilles.