Nantclwyd House

Nantclwyd House is a box-framed three-unit hall-house of medieval origin, comprising a two-bay hall and a storeyed unit at the north end forming an inner room. The central hall truss is arched-braced and jointed. The entrance, originally opening to a cross-passage, is probably in its original position towards the south end of the hall. Recent archaeological evidence suggests a further two bays to the south of the hall, indicating the building was originally a five-bay hall-house.

Extensive additions were made in the 17th century, accompanied by tree felling dates that allow precise dating. A wing was added to the northwest of the hall-house in 1619. The two-storey two-window south range was added in 1625, replacing the south end of the medieval house. The original west wall of the south range was subsequently moved outward, after which the southwest gabled wing was added in 1662, shortly followed by a two-storey northeast wing in 1663. The entrance was fronted by a two-storey gabled porch wing in 1692. A long range of service buildings continues westward from the north end of the house, terminating in a cross-wing. Tree-ring dating of these service buildings was unsuccessful, but they are likely to be 17th century; the cross-wing may have been a brew-house.

The ranges are timber-framed, mainly box-panelled on stone plinths. The ground floor framing of some of the wings was replaced by whitewashed rubble stone in the 19th century. The roofs are slate with brick stacks and renewed wooden bargeboards to the gables. The windows are mainly wooden casements with quarry glazing, some with diagonally-set timber mullions.

The two-storey gabled porch, located roughly centrally, is open to the ground floor. The upper storey is jettied on a dentilled bressumer, with the jetty supported by wooden columns with Ionic capitals at the angles, standing on high stone bases. Flanking the columns are square wooden piers with large scrolled brackets. Inside the porch is a wide boarded and studded door in a moulded wooden frame. The upper storey is constructed of narrow box panels with diagonal braces and has a two-light casement to the front and to each side.

Part of the medieval hall is visible to the right of the porch. It is single-storey, constructed of two tiers of large box panels with curved braces to the upper tier, on a rubble stone plinth. It contains a wooden cross-window with Art Nouveau stained glass, probably early 20th century. There is an opposing doorway to the right of the rear elevation, with a segmental head and boarded door, and a gabled dormer above with a two-light casement. The north gable end of the former inner room faces a passage and is storeyed and jettied with a substantial moulded bressumer. The gable has curved braces to the collar and vertical struts above. It contains two two-light casements to each storey, not aligned.

The two-storey northeast wing, facing the road, has been built against the hall. It is gable-fronted, the lower storey of whitewashed rubble stone, the upper storey of small box panels with plaster infill. The gable has decorative framing with diamond panels containing quadrant circles. The front has a four-light wooden casement to each storey, with ovolo-moulded mullions and quarry glazing. Similar three-light windows are found to the left and right returns, possibly the infill of a former pedestrian through-passage. The left-hand return also has a doorway to the far left, with a boarded door featuring Art Nouveau style carving and a stained glass light.

The tall two-storey two-window south range, to the left of the porch, has brick end stacks and raised stone copings. The front is of small irregular box panels, the south gable end of red sandstone, the wall showing signs of alteration. Transomed casements are found on the ground floor: four-light to the left and three-light to the right. Similar windows without transoms are aligned on the upper floor. The south gable end has a two-light wooden casement offset to the left of the attic storey. The first floor has a nine-pane sash to the left and an opening infilled with brick to the right. To the rear, the gabled southwest wing has been added, the lower storey replaced in rubble stone. The upper storey gable is rendered, but the left-hand return retains box-panelling; the right-hand return is not visible. The gable end has two hornless sash windows to each storey: 16-pane to the ground floor offset to the left, and 12-pane in moulded surrounds to the first floor, with a two-light casement with quarries to the attic. The left-hand return has a two-light casement to the ground floor with a diagonally-set timber mullion.

To the rear of the hall is the northwest wing, single-storey with attic. Its north side is aligned with the north gable end of the hall and is of three tiers of irregular close-studding on a stone plinth, containing two four-light casements with quarries. The wall continues to the right, the lower part of whitewashed rubble. The south side of this wing is box-panelled with a four-light window to the left, above which is a gabled half-dormer with a five-light window. To the far left is a narrow two-storey hipped-roofed projection, the upper storey close-studded with a two-light casement to the front and to the left-hand return. The rubble stone wall beneath has doorways to the sides, that to the west blocked; this formed a lobby-entrance beneath a large stone ridge stack with a clustered brick shaft.

A long service range, single-storey with attics, altered and with irregular openings, runs westward from the northwest wing, forming the north boundary of the property. Its north side is of whitewashed rubble stone under a slate roof with a wide through-passage to the left of centre, its east interior side box-panelled. Irregular two-light casement windows are found: two to the left of the through-passage and three to the right. A large timber-framed gable to the left has a six-light window and a two-light window above the tie-beam; two smaller gabled dormers to the right have two-light casements. The south side has a wooden door and a two-light casement to the right of the through-passage, and a similar casement to the left of the through-passage. The attic storey has a large timber-framed gable to the right, opposing that to the north side, with a boarded door which formerly led to a balcony. To its right is a four-light window, with a two-light casement above. To the left of the through-passage is a two-light casement, above which is a gabled attic dormer. At the left end is a stone cross-wing, the east side with a lateral brick stack and a doorway to its left. The south gable end has a two-light casement to each storey. The west side has similar windows, that to the attic under a raked half-dormer. It is continuous with the gable end of the main range which has a two-light casement over a three-light casement.

The extant hall-house consists of a two-bay hall with a central open truss, and a storeyed bay to the north. The open truss is a jointed arched-brace, the ceiling following the curve of the truss, concealing cusping to the apex and curved windbraces. The closed truss to the north bay is box-panelled with curved braces. The upper storey is infilled with later small-scantling timber-framing and has altered later doorways. The roof structure of the north bay has tenoned purlins with substantial curved windbraces and a small window opening with a segmental head to the east, now facing into the northeast wing. The ground floor of the north bay has a 17th-century ceiling with a medium-chamfered spine-beam with run-out stops and stop-chamfered joists. In the hall, a fireplace was inserted to make a lobby-entrance, probably in the 17th century. However, the fireplace has a panelled surround with fleur-de-lis decoration, which has a dendrochronological date of 1423 or slightly later; it was probably imported in the early 20th century. Behind the fireplace is a 17th-century dog-leg staircase with turned balusters and a heavy moulded handrail. The balustrading continues as a balcony around the west and north sides of the hall, but is heavier and may have been brought from elsewhere, possibly by Simon Parry from Llanelidan Church. Wood panelling behind the balustrading may also be an import. The floor is flagstone. The upper chamber of the late 17th-century porch wing has a particularly fine plaster strapwork ceiling, with a central star pattern, moulded coving and fleur-de-lis motifs to the corners. The south range has a 17th-century ceiling with stop-chamfered cross-beams and some bolection-moulded panelling. The southwest wing has later panelling, possibly brought from elsewhere, and panelled ceilings with moulded spine- and cross-beams. The northwest wing has a deeply-chamfered cross-beam and stop-chamfered joists. The fireplace has a large cambered timber lintel supported by pilasters with corbels, and a 20th-century cooking range inside. The service range to the west includes one room with a 17th-century ceiling: a medium-chamfered cross-beam and plain joists. Stone steps lead down to cellars. The cross-wing has box-panelling with wattle and daub infill, and simple tie-beam trusses; the exterior walls were rebuilt in stone later.