Tretower Court

Tretower Court is a fortified medieval manor house consisting of two-storey north and west ranges arranged around a central courtyard. An east gatehouse is flanked by a curtain wall and wall walk, which continues on the south side to enclose a quadrangular yard. The entire complex is built of random rubble sandstone with stone tile roofs throughout.

East Curtain Wall and Gatehouse

The curtain wall to the east has a wall walk above machicolations, which is roofed to the left of the gatehouse with a Tudor window flanked by loops. Left of centre stands the two-storey gatehouse, though its upper stage has been taken down. A wide doorway with two-centred arch is recessed beneath machicolations, with a single window above having a moulded surround. The postern to the right of the gatehouse is narrower but similar in design to the main gateway.

At the right end is the north wing gable end, featuring a restored seven-light mullioned and transomed window in the upper storey, and a blocked doorway below (which led to the court room) flanked by corbels. The courtyard elevation of the gatehouse has a two-centred archway, to the right of which is a small Tudor stair light. The upper storey has Tudor windows in the front and left side walls. The curtain wall has recesses right and left of the gatehouse, and the wall walk above to the right has a two-light window.

North Range

The north range faces the courtyard with six windows in the lower storey fitted with renewed wood mullions, and doorways leading to the court room, steward's room, cider cellar, and a retiring chamber to the left at the end of a skew passage in the angle with the west range. A first-floor gallery projects on brackets and is reconstructed with open square panels. The south face of the upper storey is timber framed in square panels with lath and plaster infill. The upper storey has five windows similar to the ground floor and three doorways with Tudor heads, fitted with boarded and studded doors having enriched strap hinges. These doorways lead to the outer chamber, the main hall, and solar.

West Range

The gallery continues round to the west wing above the solar, where it is also timber-framed but with open panels. In the lower storey the solar has a four-light oriel window in reconstituted stone. To the left, the courtyard elevation of the west wing is a 17th-century remodelling (contrasting with the rear elevation in which the original layout of rooms remains discernible) of five bays with Renaissance detail. In the upper storey are two-light windows, with cross windows below, and a central doorway in ashlar replacing the barn doors inserted in the 18th or 19th century.

South Curtain Wall

The courtyard elevation of the south curtain wall has a similar cross window to the right and four two-light windows to the covered wall walk, which projects on machicolations. A centrally-placed doorway has a recess to the right containing a fine 17th-century grave slab to members of the Vaughan family, brought from Cwmdu church. A similar recess is at the left end. The south elevation of the curtain wall bears scars of former gabled projections to right and left.

The west wing projects south beyond the line of the curtain wall. In the angle between is a 16th-century outshut housing a stair to the wall walk. The short east wall has two two-light 17th-century first-floor windows. The south gable end has an end stack with two diagonal shafts, and two 17th-century two-light windows in the upper storey and a similar cross window lower right. To the right of centre is a shallow oven projection, and to the left is a blocked 15th-century window.

West Front

The long west front has openings corresponding with the 15th-century division of rooms. To the left is the gable end of the north range with one-light windows in both storeys. Between the west and north ranges is a full-height garderobe turret. The solar to the left of the west range has one-light windows flanking an external stack cut down to eaves level. To the right of the solar is the great hall with an external stack cut down to eaves height, flanked by a two-light window to the left and one-light to the right. To the right of the hall is the cross passage doorway (renewed in concrete).

The service rooms right of the former cross passage have three 17th-century cross windows in the lower storey, beyond which the kitchen has a two-light transomed 15th-century window and 17th-century lattice glazing behind original iron bars. The passage, service rooms and kitchen have a continuous range of six two-light 17th-century windows in the upper storey and two gablets offset to the right, each with stacks having paired diagonal shafts.

North Wall

The north wall of the north range has a shallow garderobe turret and stack (cut down to eaves level) to the left, flanked by one-light upper storey windows with stone surrounds and integral iron bars. Left of centre is another stack cut down to eaves level, flanked by similar first-floor windows. To the right of centre is the solar garderobe turret, with a similar small window to the left, and windows to the right inserted in the 15th century into the retiring chamber and bed chamber above.

Courtyard

The courtyard has a cobbled path from the gatehouse to the main 17th-century doorway in the west range, and a narrower cobbled path at right angles leading to the south curtain wall.

Interior: Gatehouse

The gatehouse has a segmental tunnel vault and cobbled floor. In the side walls are benches in recesses. In the south wall is a narrow stone stair to the first floor, which has a fireplace on the north side with integral oven, and stone treads on the south side of a former stair to the upper storey. The north and south walls also have doorways to the wall walk.

Interior: North Range Upper Storey

In the north range upper storey is a dividing wall between the solar and bed chamber. Grooves in the tie beams define former screens between the outer apartment (consisting of a small two-bay hall and inner room), three-bay main hall and solar. The halls and bed chamber have arched-brace central trusses; the remaining trusses have tie beams with queen and crown posts. The outer apartment hall has a fireplace in the north wall, with a raked stone hood added during restoration. The main hall and solar have fireplaces with deep chamfered lintels.

Interior: North Range Lower Storey

In the lower storey are cross beams and a single spine beam, all with run-out stops. Grooves in the beams define the position of the court room and steward's room. The court room at the east end has a boarded ceiling and a fireplace with deep chamfered lintel. The steward's room has a garderobe entered through a lintelled doorway. Beyond the steward's room is the cider cellar, with a segmental tunnel vault. The retiring chamber has a fireplace with a deep lintel in the dividing wall and a separate oven to the right of it with a stone vaulted roof and a raked stone hood projecting on corbels.

Interior: West Range Great Hall

The west range has a three-bay ground-floor great hall, with arched-brace trusses and wind braces. At the south end is a two-tier post-and-panel partition with Tudor-headed doorways to the cross passage. At the north end is a similar screen above a stone partition wall with two-centred doorway to the solar. In the west wall is a fireplace with big jambs and lintel.

Interior: Solar and Chamber Above

The solar has heavily-moulded spine and cross beams. A fireplace in the west wall has a deep chamfered lintel, to the right of which is a garderobe in a shallow projection. On the north side is a Tudor-headed doorway to the right leading to the north range, and a straight wooden stair to the gallery and heated chamber above. The chamber has a post-and-panel partition on the north side with two ogee-headed doorways, on the right to the north range gallery, on the left to the garderobe. The renewed doors are studded with strap hinges. A fireplace in the west wall has a chamfered lintel.

Interior: Service Rooms and Kitchen

On the south side of the great hall the service rooms and former cross passage are now undivided. The service rooms are two-storey with a joist-beam ceiling. In the west wall is a fireplace with a deep lintel. The first floor was originally two rooms but was converted to a single room when the fireplace was added in the west wall in the 17th century. The four-bay roof has crown posts flanked by raking struts.

At the south end is the ground-floor kitchen, reached from the service rooms through three Tudor-headed doorways in a post-and-panel partition. The two-bay roof is a continuation of the service room roof. A large fireplace in the south wall has a segmental arch. Of the first floor one cross beam survives. In the west wall is a first-floor fireplace with a stop-chamfer surround, and plastered walls have traces of red and light-blue paint.