Plantagenet House

Plantagenet House

This Grade II* listed building is a house, now in use as a restaurant, situated on Quay Hill. It is constructed of painted roughcast with a slate close-eaved gabled roof.

The facade presents two storeys to Quay Hill, with a basement storey at the right-hand end, accessed by descending steps from Quay Hill. The first floor contains three renewed 12-pane sash windows (restored since 1977). The ground floor has three windows aligned with those above: two restored 12-pane sash windows and a canted bay window to the right, with a 9-pane window to the far left set within a former plain doorway. The main entrance is positioned between the sash windows, featuring a pilastered open pedimented timber doorcase with a blind fanlight displaying radiating tracery in the pediment, above a 6-panel door with the top four panels glazed. The canted bay window extends down to basement level on a roughcast plinth and has 4-16-4-pane glazing at first floor level. A date panel above the entrance is inscribed I/EM/170-. A stable door is present at basement level to the right. In front of the ground floor runs a rubble stone platform with timber railings and stone steps ascending from the left.

The north wall, which faces into the rear yard of the adjacent Tudor Merchant's House, contains a basement 12-pane sash window and a ground floor 20th-century canted 3-light window. A very large Pembrokeshire round chimney projects from the west end of the rear elevation.

The ground floor features exposed rubble stone end walls with cambered-headed fireplaces: the south end fireplace is approximately 1.7 metres wide, while the north end fireplace is small and set within a projecting section of wall. Rough corbels on either side of this projection carry two axial beams to a cross-beam positioned just south of the bay window, which itself sits on shaped corbels. Another rough corbel appears on the rear west wall immediately to the right of this cross-beam. The middle bay contains three axial beams leading to another cross-beam, with two further beams extending to the south bay.

A central arch passes through to the rear wing, constructed of rubble stone on the right side with red brick voussoirs to the right only, and a rebate to the right jamb. The rear face of this wall, exposed into the wing, displays stone voussoirs and a rough keystone to the arch. A tall blocked opening above features a timber lintel and stone sill, with a brick jamb to the left and a right jamb set in an angle. A blocked window to the left has a timber lintel. The north wall contains two rough windows with splayed inward reveals and timber lintels, with a square opening above each and a tiny square opening above again. The west end wall has a fine fireplace with stone voussoirs to a cambered arch and squared stone jambs, the chimneybreast rising to approximately 3.5 metres before battering back. Corbels are positioned in the angles on either side of the fireplace. The south wall, which was originally external, exhibits continuous corbelling and a small square blocked first floor window with a timber lintel; a 20th-century stair to the first floor door occupies an angle corner with a massive oak lintel.

The ground floor right room contains two 20th-century beams on plastered corbels and a small end fireplace. A small canted oriel on the north side overlooks the rear of Tudor Merchant's House.

The basement contains a massive oak beam on corbels to the left of the doorway, with another smaller beam further left and corbels for a third beyond, positioned over inserted stairs. The north end wall features a blocked door with a timber lintel providing access to Tudor Merchant's House to the left, and a shallow niche to the centre. A door through to the back room is external in origin, with tooled stone jambs rebated on the inside. A large beam spans just inside the rear room. Corbels indicate the position of a jettied upper floor, while the present ceiling beams rest on inserted corbels. The north wall contains corbels for three beams and a 12-pane window looking out to the rear yard of Tudor Merchant's House. A low door is set in the rear west wall to the right, with a brick fireplace to the left.