Pen-y-Clawdd Court

Pen-y-Clawdd Court

Built of roughly squared and coursed red sandstone rubble with some timber framing revealed internally, Pen-y-Clawdd Court is roofed in stone slate, concrete tile imitating stone, and Welsh slate. The house comprises three main sections: a rectangular entrance range forming the oldest part, a taller Stuart T-shaped section added to its left end, and a kitchen wing forming an L at the rear right. The oldest section is two storeys, the Stuart wing rises to two storeys and attic, and the kitchen wing is two storeys.

On the garden elevation, the fenestration reads 1:1:2 from left to right. The left-hand bay projects as a gabled wing, followed by a later section where part of the original was reconstructed for incorporation into the larger house, then two bays with a central doorway marking the original build. Most windows are 4-light oak mullioned with hollow (reserved) chamfers, all post-1984 reproductions. The wing's first floor window is a 4-light stone mullioned light with a dripmould, with a 2-light similar window in the gable above. The front door to the cross-passage is a 17th-century nailed plank door with strap hinges, its bottom replaced, with a dripmould over. A tall stack with four diagonally set shafts stands at the junction of the wing and main range, and a large square stack is built onto the end gable of the main range, these roof slopes covered in concrete tiles.

To the left of the gable is a projecting stair tower with a catslide roof and a 3-light window on the half landing. To the right of the tower, a cellar window sits below a 3-light window, with a 4-light stone window above that. The roof slope here is covered in Welsh slate.

The elevation to the knot garden is similar in character. On the right is the gabled wing end with 3 and 4-light oak mullioned windows, crowned by a paired diagonally set stack. To the left is a higher roofed section with 3-light oak windows on each floor, followed by the hall bay with 4-light windows on each floor and the door to the cross-passage. Five of these windows have introduced stone lintels.

The three-bay kitchen wing projects to the left. It is two storeys and attic with 3-light oak mullioned windows. A large new lateral stack stands between windows 2 and 3, with a porch of lean-to roof to its right. The gable end has an attic window with drip mould over. All these roof slopes are covered in real stone tiles.

On the entrance elevation, a doorway serves the kitchen wing cross-passage, with a modern lean-to to its right. To the left, the gable end of the original wing bears the new stack, with a small stair window to its right.

The interior is largely 17th-century in character, though some has been recreated during 1984-97. The cross-passage has post-and-panel screens on both sides, each with a plank door. The Dining Room to the right and the Sitting Room to the left feature ceiling beams with bar-and-run-out stops and fireplaces with chamfered stone lintels, with flagstone floors. Winder stairs stand to the left of the Dining Room fireplace. A grand stair in short straight flights rounds a central pier in the Stuart wing, constructed of solid oak steps carrying stone treads. At least one timber-framed partition wall is visible on the upper floor. Several good bedrooms contain chamfered ceiling beams. The principal upper room is the Court Room, entered directly off the main stair, featuring a shaped door-head, compartmented ceiling, a fireplace with moulded surround, and higher-status stone windows.

Principal rafter roofs with trenched purlins and diagonally set ridge pieces are present throughout; the roof of the Stuart wing also incorporates queen struts. The ground floor of the kitchen wing was not seen at resurvey in April 1997.