Brynderi House

Brynderi House is an early 19th-century Regency villa of great architectural distinction.

The building is rendered stucco with incised lines simulating ashlar blocks. It has a hipped slate roof with 19th-century skylights, and a separate hipped slate roof covers the service end. Four chimney stacks—two at the west end, one centrally placed, and one at the service end—are all rendered with oversailing courses at their caps.

The south facade is irregular and rises to two storeys. The front wall extends above the eaves to form a shallow parapet with moulded cornice. A large off-centre two-storey segmental bay window is the dominant feature. The first floor of the bay contains three 16-pane horned sashes. Flanking walls on either side have two 12-pane hornless sashes each. At ground floor level, an elegant veranda encloses the bay window and extends west beyond the end-wall of the house. The veranda has a gently coved lead roof (hipped to the west) and pierced geometrical and anthemion pattern cast-iron supports. The bay contains three pairs of tall 10+10 pane glazed double-doors, each with 8-pane rectangular overlights. To the left of the bay on the ground floor is a similar pair of glazed doors and a late 19th-century canted bay window with large 8+12+8 pane horned sashes. To the right of the bay are a 12-pane hornless sash and a smaller 9-pane sash. Further right sits the kitchen block with a large 20th-century window.

The north entrance front has four 12-pane sashes on the first floor. At ground floor level are (left to right) a 12-pane sash, glazed double-doors with 8-pane rectangular overlight, another 12-pane sash, then a projecting single-storey entrance porch. The porch has a flat canopy supported by Doric columns with square bases; the entablature features a plain cornice and frieze with triglyphs at the angles. The entrance doorway has a radial fanlight and 4-panel double-doors with concave corners to the upper two panels and flush lower panels.

The west gable has three 16-pane hornless sashes on the ground floor and two similar horned windows on the first floor.

Windows throughout are sashes, some with horns but mostly without; openings have flat heads and shallow stone sills.

Interior

The porch's inner doorway has a radial fanlight. Early 19th-century double-doors feature tall glazed upper panels with diagonal glazing bars and marginal panes. The entrance opens into a spacious stair-hall with a fine groin vaulted plaster ceiling. Segmental arched moulded ribs with guilloche decoration spring from acanthus-moulded console brackets. The stair has an open string and winders, square-section balusters, and a mahogany handrail with a spiral turn at the base (newel omitted) and ramped handrail to the upper landing.

The drawing room has a 6-panel door, corniced ceiling, picture and dado rails, panelled window shutters, and a fine late 18th-century fireplace surround (ex situ) with moulded shelf and carved arabesques. The dining room (formerly the music room) has a 6-panel door, panelled shutters to the large segmental bay, and a plain 19th-century fireplace surround. The library is accessible from the stair hall. Service rooms beyond have 19th-century 4-panel doors. The former kitchen contains an 18th-century shouldered stone fireplace surround with coved shelf. The pantry has shelves with shaped brackets. The servants' staircase has a straight flight with winders at the top, square balusters, and a square stop-chamfered newel post.

The first floor contains six bedrooms and the attic roof provides two garret rooms. The attic roof is hipped with two tiers of purlins.