The Malt House

The Malt House forms the western section of a former mansion, incorporating a southwest wing and part of the original main range. Dating primarily to the early 17th century, with later alterations, it occupies the left-hand bay of the three-window main range, which is two storeys high with an attic. The walls are of rubble construction, colour-washed to the front, with a steep-pitched slate roof. A central entrance, now providing access to Little Malt House, is flanked by small-pane sash windows. Similar windows are found on the first floor, and there are two dormer windows in the gables with decorative bargeboards. A central axial stack is present, and paired diagonally set shafts rise to a projecting stack on the west gable end, again flanked by 12-pane sash windows. A single brick stack is located at the rear. The entrance to The Malt House itself is situated in the corner of the wing on the west side of the courtyard. This range includes 16-pane sash windows on the upper storey and a single window with modern glazing on the ground floor. The western elevation features overhanging eaves, roughcast to the upper floor, with small-pane sash windows, and a modern ground floor extension.

The rear displays an undulating roof line; a sash window with a brick surround is on the left, and a blocked 16th-century timber-framed staircase window is on the right. Various single-storeyed extensions have been added against the rear wall. A segmental arch with voussoirs set into the rubble wall adjoining the gable end, and leading from a cobbled courtyard to a walled garden, is a notable feature.

The interior retains fine early 17th-century features, particularly in the main rooms. The former hall stretches from front to rear, featuring heavily roll-moulded and feather stop-chamfered beams with run-out stops. A medieval fireplace, reportedly removed from Crickhowell Castle, remains, complete with a large stone lintel incised with a semi-circular line. The ‘laying out’ room, overlooking the garden, has ovolo moulded beams and twin coved ceilings. A full-height, blocked spiral staircase, likely from the 16th century, is present at the rear, alongside plain chamfer beams on the first floor, a timber-framed partition wall, and wide oak floorboards. The roof retains original trusses for a five-bay construction. A particularly special feature is the 17th-century painted brick malt kiln in the west wing, a rare survival, with each side splaying out with chamfered angles forming vaulting in what is now the entrance hall, originally an open space. A large drawing room on the first floor represents a conversion of a former drying area; a chute led down to the barrel-vaulted three-chamber cellar, accessed by a ramp, containing a stone flagged floor, original brewing vats, and glazed tiles. The space was later adapted for cider making.