Castle House

Castle House

An important house consisting of a former castle gatehouse incorporated into a 19th-century structure, arranged in a rough L-shape as part of the principal complex. The former gatehouse faces south and is part of a projecting wing which, set into the hillside, has a lower ground floor than the upper range extending east-west across a terrace.

The gatehouse is constructed of lime-rendered stone rubble with a slate roof. Its south-facing elevation features a central pointed stone archway set within a rectangular corbelled shallow recess. At first-floor level is an oriel window with cross-framed 20th-century glazing and pitched roof. The second floor has further corbelling and is slightly jettied, with a rectangular cross-framed window in the apex set within a square hoodmould. Scalloped bargeboard details the overhanging eaves. A corbel table extends around the sides of the gatehouse.

Inside the open porch, stairs rise to the rear under a chamfered two-ordered arch with a portcullis slot, leading to a doorway on the right side. The walls are of unrendered stone rubble with a vaulted narrow-stone roof. A tall lateral stack of blue brick rises on the right side.

The higher cross range shares the same eaves level. The slate roof is swept with overhanging eaves and incorporates a small dormer. Narrow corniced end stacks are of coursed dressed stone. At the right junction of the two wings is a long narrow pointed-arched staircase window with leaded quarry glazing and Gothick pointed arched glazing at the head, set under an arched hoodmould. Two upper floor windows include one with three lights of quarry panels and one smaller rectangular example; below is a 16-pane casement, all with square-headed hoodmoulds. A chamfered stone rectangular cellar opening is present. To the left, the gable end of the cross range sits close to the side of the gatehouse, with asymmetrical windows at two levels including a wide inserted 20th-century window to the main living room. Two narrow stone strings mark the gable. A deep square recess to the gatehouse is at an intermediate level.

Stepped down to the east is a lower wing with a small-slate roof, swept and overhanging eaves, and casement windows under timber lintels at three levels to the gable end.

The garden elevation facing south now houses the main entrance. The main unit is of limewashed stone with a roof featuring a small gabled dormer, overhanging eaves, and tall tooled-stone stacks. Three first-floor windows all have heavy hoodmoulds: cross-framed and long to the right, positioned above a 20th-century glazed conservatory; paired multipane segmental-arched casements to the left above a single-storey lean-to bay. From this projects a later wide gabled stone porch with a cambered-headed stone lintel to the doorway and narrow stone kneelers. Casement windows and a lean-to to the lower range are positioned to the left. Attached to the right is a later single-storey wing with a tiled roof and brick surrounds to arched windows.

The interior plan reflects the two main building periods and adaptation of different levels. The residential wing, now the main house, on the higher garden terrace wraps around the deeper gatehouse, with the axes of the two ranges at right angles to each other and minimal living space connection between them. Steep stairs lead up from the lower-floor gatehouse doorway to the level of the cross wing. The cellar, level with the lower storey of the gatehouse, has a chamfered door head. The main living room occupies the south end bay of the later wing. A hall and landing run axially through the range with the kitchen at the north end—a range by James of Monmouth. The stairs rise close behind the gatehouse with a landing balustrade. The upper room over the porch was for the portcullis mechanism. Access to this roof space from the house reveals two roof-frames of differing dates for the porch. A-frame trusses with three rows of purlins are visible in the top-floor ceiling of the house.