Llanmaes House

Llanmaes House

An unusual house with a white-washed rough-cast finish over local rubblestone and Welsh slate roofs. The building is two storeys with attics and follows a double depth central entrance plan.

The front elevation is particularly striking, with three gables topped by moulded stone copings, the central one smaller than its neighbours. Three sash windows, mostly 20th century but including some late 18th-century examples, feature 6 over 6 panes in flush frames with drips above. A central panelled door is topped by an arched fanlight beneath a semi-circular timber and plaster hood supported on scroll brackets. Three ornamental lead down pipes with decorative rainwater heads run down the facade, and three large square stone stacks punctuate the roofline.

The right return elevation contains mainly inserted windows of similar character. The left return features a late 19th-century wing, again fitted with comparable sash windows. The rear elevation mirrors the front with three gables. The left-hand gable contains two 6 over 6 pane sash windows. The smaller central gable houses the staircase and has a sash window above a doorway now obscured by a late 20th-century conservatory. The right-hand gable, of late 19th-century date, features a large canted bay window with 6 lights to the upper floor.

The front door opens into a hall with the staircase positioned at the rear. A light timber-framed partition divides the Dining Room on the left; the joinery of this partition dates to the early 18th century. To the right is the solid wall of the older part of the house, also featuring early 18th-century joinery. The Drawing Room displays bolection moulded panelling and cornice with a later 18th-century marble fireplace. A hidden door in the panelling to the right leads to a china cupboard with shaped shelves, while another to the left provides further access within the room.

The staircase is notably broad, extending to the attic. It features a narrow open well, closed string, and rather slight turned balusters set relatively far apart, with a broad moulded pine handrail. Moulded dado panelling runs along the staircase to the first floor only. A late 20th-century conservatory on the half landing provides access to the garden and also cuts through the wall at an angle to reach the Oak Room at mezzanine level.

The Oak Room contains unpainted panelling of circa 1730 character, though some elements appear to have been altered or added. The six-panel doors with brass locks are certainly mid-18th century. The south wall panelling shows evidence of alteration where a large 20th-century window has been inserted. The cornice and moulded plaster ceiling are more in character with circa 1700. The fireplace is a circa 1840 marble example with an inserted stove.

The Rose Room, accessed from the staircase in the same manner, sits above the Oak Room. It features a circa 1700 plaster ceiling of old-fashioned character with a deep cove and large central roundel decorated with oak leaf motifs in the corners. The remainder of the decoration is 18th century in style, apart from the overmantel which is probably a late 19th-century addition.

Beneath this section of the house, the cellar has a stone flagged floor with a drainage channel that flows during heavy rain. The ceiling is supported by chamfered beams with straight cut stops of 17th-century type.

The Dining Room displays late 19th-century decoration, while the service rooms remain plain. The main bedroom in the late 19th-century wing, now used as a billiard room, contains an inserted late 16th or early 17th-century moulded stone fireplace with thistle stops.

The attic rooms are plain, with the roof structure revealed as an A-frame with notched lap joints to the collars.