Llandaff House

Llandaff House, now divided into two separate residences at Crossways (No. 2) and Llandaff House (No. 4) on Fairwater Road, is a mid-18th century house built of stone rubble with rendered walls and a Welsh slate roof. The house follows a double-depth central entrance plan in the domestic Palladian style, presenting a three-bay front with two full-height, three-light splayed bays at either end, bracketed cills, and a heavy cornice marking the attic level. The central first-floor window is set within a plain stuccoed aedicule, flanked by narrower windows to either side. Below this is a doorway with flanking windows, originally with a pillared and pedimented porch. This porch is a late 20th-century restoration of the original entrance, which had been converted into a window; the porch remains unfinished with unplastered columns. The windows are largely sash windows with glazing bars; the attic windows have horns, with a 6-over-6 pane configuration except for the flanking windows in the centre, which are narrower 4-over-4 sashes.

No. 2 incorporates the right-hand full-height bay and a wing extending towards Cardiff Road, which originally held the dining room, kitchen, and other service rooms with bedrooms above. No. 4 comprises the original central entrance, the left-hand full-height bay, and a garden wing, encompassing the drawing room, staircase, ballroom, billiard room, and bedrooms.

The left return (No. 4) displays four bays of 6-over-6 sash windows, with an inserted doorway and a modern pillared porch on the ground floor. The attic windows of No. 4 have 3-over-1 panes. The ground level rises, placing the large ballroom at a higher elevation. This ballroom features a large, tripartite stucco-framed window and paired sashes above. A circa 1880 extension is constructed of limestone rubble with red brick dressings. It incorporates two sashes with elliptical heads on the ground floor and a paired sash above, sitting on a cill band, serving the billiard room. The extension's eaves are supported by brackets, and the billiard room contains a large lantern with a pyramid roof.

No features older than the mid-18th century were visible. The cellars feature two barrel vaults constructed of rubble. The original entrance hall is undergoing conversion back to its original purpose. The Drawing Room retains mid-18th century panelling, doors, and a fireplace surround, although the panels above the dado are covered with Victorian embossed gilded paper. The west window has been altered to a door and then back to a plain glazed window. The entrance door is fitted with two fine Victorian stained-glass panels. The open-well staircase features a wrought iron balustrade and a mahogany rail. Cantilevered stone stairs with shaped soffits lead to a half-landing providing access to the rear wing, which houses the ballroom, featuring mahogany doors with Palladian surrounds and an altered fireplace. A Victorian wing within the rear section includes a closet in the Burges Gothic manner and a Billiard Room with an elaborate inglenook including a fireplace dated 1888, stained glass, a coved ceiling, and a large lantern light. The main staircase ascends to a landing with three doorways, one now blocked (No. 2). The bedrooms are plain, and the bathroom contains Victorian fittings. The attic floor was not inspected.