Plas Frongog

Plas Frongog

A substantial house built in rock-faced grey rubble stone with tooled Llanddewi Brefi stone quoins, ashlar dressings and slate double-valley eaves roofs. The building is tall and two and a half storeys, with a three-bay south front. The centre bay rises to a gable between half-hipped gables, all three featuring bargeboards carved with a vine-leaf pattern. A plinth runs across the front.

The south front is articulated with ashlar mullion-and-transom windows. The first floor windows have dripmoulds, and a moulded string course runs across the ground floor. The centre and right gables contain small three-light attic mullion windows; the first floor has two-light windows to the centre and three-light to the right, both mullion-and-transom type. The ground floor right bay has a pair of two-light long windows with two transoms. The left gable contains three-light mullion-and-transom windows at ground, first and attic floors, though these are set lower than the corresponding windows to the centre and right bays. A tall brick chimney sits in the right valley.

The centrepiece of the front is an ashlar doorcase that projects slightly, with a stringcourse stepped forward above. The door itself is Tudor-arched with carved spandrels and is flanked by sidelights and topped with four top-lights. It is a plank door hung on wrought iron strap hinges. Above the stringcourse stands a small blank plaque set in a pedimented strapwork frame. The door sidelights and top-lights, along with the ground floor window top-lights, contain leaded coloured glass.

The east garden front is two storeys with two projecting bays. The left bay is half-hipped with bargeboards, whilst the right bay is a broad semi-circular form in plan with a curved roof. The left square bay features a large ground floor four-light window with two transoms and a first floor three-light mullion-and-transom window, with similar single-lights to the side walls. A string course runs over the ground floor. The curved bay to the right has almost continuous glazing at ground floor, comprising three three-light windows divided by ashlar piers, and three further three-light windows to the first floor. Stained glass appears in the top-lights of the ground floor windows.

The north side contains ridge and west end chimney stacks, with a three-light and two-light window above. A pair of three-light windows with double transoms is positioned to the ground floor left, and a three-light mullion and transom window to the right. Ground floor windows here feature stained glass top-lights.

The west service side is two storeys and attic. The gable-end of the north range to the left has a brick stack, whilst the section to the right is two and a half storeys. This portion includes a half-hipped eaves-breaking dormer with bargeboards and a cross-window to the left, positioned over but not aligned with transomed single lights at each floor to the left and a cross-window at each floor to the centre. The right side has a door and windows slightly offset at intermediate levels, providing light to the service stair.

A single-storey former coach-house range runs parallel to the west gable of the north range and extends northwards, with three openings to the west featuring timber posts and angle braces. These openings are part-infilled in stone with glazing above. A 20th-century opening appears in the north end wall, and a cross window is positioned in the south end.

Internally, the entrance hall and stair hall are laid with encaustic tiles. The windows flanking the front door contain coloured glass with stained glass panels; the top-lights display two thistles and two shamrocks, whilst the sidelights show two roses and a royal crown below. An inner glazed screen with leaded glass in top-lights and a panelled door follows. A segmental-pointed hall arch opens into a large top-lit open-well centre stair-hall with a timber stair on three sides. The stair features heavy detailing: a moulded closed string, turned balusters and turned newels with ball-type finials and pendants. A landing on the west side displays a triple arcade of round columns with ovolo-moulded pointed arches. The lantern glazing is of 20th-century date, though the original dentil cornice survives around it.

Ground floor rooms are accessed via five-panel doors. The south-east former dining room has a segmental-pointed sideboard recess to the north and a heavy purple marble fireplace to the west. The north-east drawing room features a heavily-moulded ceiling border and cornice, with a white marble fireplace to the west. The north room and south-west study have simpler coloured marble fireplaces. Ground floor rooms throughout contain painted glass panels of birds and coloured leaded glass in the window top-lights.