Lleweni Hall, including Stables to the NE

Lleweni Hall, including Stables to the NE

This red brick building of around 1770 represents the surviving southern part of what was once a much larger mansion. An engraving published in Angus' 'Seats of the Nobility' in 1787 shows that the original house had at least three substantial wings, with the present pedimented block likely positioned at the corner where the south and west ranges met.

The main house comprises two storeys with a basement, constructed of red brick under a slate roof with brick chimneys. Throughout the building are small-pane sash windows with cambered voussoired heads. The north end features a broad advanced pedimented bay on both the east and west sides; the eastern bay (now the garden front) contains three windows, while the western bay (facing the farmyard) contains one window. A dentil cornice on the garden front continues across the eastern bay to close the pediment, with a simpler cornice on the opposite side.

The garden front measures five bays plus three windows, with 12-pane sashes to the left. In the pedimented bay to the right are three 16-pane sashes on the first floor positioned above tall 20-pane sashes with round-arched fanlight heads. The lefthand opening has been converted to French windows. All ground floor windows are set within distinctive tall round-arched recesses, though only those windows beneath the pediment are themselves round-headed. The central window of the five-bay section sits higher, lighting a narrow hallway inside. Stone steps lead up to the French windows.

At right angles stands a nine-bay range of former stables and barn, originally featuring a central pediment and cupola, as shown in historical illustrations. The large central arch is now blocked. Narrower stepped arches occupy the upper end, with bays to the lower end articulated by pilasters and later stable windows. The roof is corrugated following removal of the upper storey. The west side displays a blind roundel within the pediment and one window per floor below. One further bay of similar windows stands to the right, after which the building has been reduced in depth and fitted with a lean-to. Outbuilding ranges adjoin to the north, and external steps forming the main entrance into the house occupy the angle between the main block and these ranges.

The entrance opens directly into the tall kitchen, which is remarkable for its pair of full-height Doric columns constructed from a plaster surround over an iron post. From here, a slate-flagged corridor extends through the house. The 18th-century interiors retain a wide variety of egg and dart cornices, good Adamesque fire surrounds with iron grates, and six-panel doors. A late 17th- or 18th-century balustrade to the lower staircase, relocated from its original position south of the present main stairs, also survives.

The cellars are especially fine and comprise several phases of construction dating back at least to the 17th century, confirming that the surviving structure has earlier origins than the 1770s exterior suggests. The main chamber features a groin vault carried on a central pier and was later used as a dining hall for students at the renowned Dairy School. A blocked window beneath the garden steps suggests this part may date to the late 17th-century house. To the north lies a root cellar, with a blocked door opening into the former stable range. On the opposite side is a wine cellar, similarly vaulted with a central pier and further blocked openings indicating that the cellars originally extended considerably further south.