History

The ancestral seat of the Nannau family and from the late C18 the Vaughans. Cadwgan, son of Bleddyn ap Gynfyn, Princeof Powys built the first recorded house on or near the site in the late C11. His descendants, the Nanneys, were on site until 1701 (unbroken male line). An early house was destroyed by Owain Glyndwr c. 1402 during the revolt. In the early C17 Huw Nannau Hen built a new house in lavish style, much praised by his contemporaries. There is no record of this in the 1660s hearth tax returns so it is possible that the house was a casualty of the Civil War. Col. Huw Nannau rebuilt the house c. 1693 and a subsidiary domestic range behind the present house probably relates to this; it now lies in ruins. Nannau eventually passed to a relative, Robert Hywel Vaughan, created a baronet in 1791 and High Sheriff of Merioneth at the same time. He built the present restrained Georgian house c.1795, incorporating part of the late C17 building in the SW corner. To the three-storey primary block the second baronet added storied pavilion wings c.1805, to the designs of Joseph Bromfield. These elegant additions were swept away this century, that to the NE as late as c. 1970.

Exterior

3-storey 5-bay house in restrained Georgian style; square plan. Of large dressed blocks of local slate-stone with sandstone dressings; shallow, hipped slate roof with plain chimneys. Recessed, wide entrance bay to main (SE) front. Elegant entrance porch with Ionic columns and simple moulded entablature. Within, a large C19 part-glazed door with 12-pane upper glazing and panelled lower section; flanking 8-pane internal windows. Above the porch a tripartite sandstone window in a shallow, segmental arched recess; 12-pane central light with narrow 4-pane vertical flanking lights. Similar, squatter window to third floor, though with 3 equal lights, all with plain C19 sash glazing. Tall 12-pane recessed sash windows to ground floors of main and side elevations and contemporary 6-pane sashes to the upper elevations. The middle floor has plain Victorian sashes to the front and left-hand sides, though the original 12-pane glazing survives to the R; all windows have projecting stone lintels. External stepped cellar access to the first side bays from the front. Good decorative and heraldic lead hoppers survive, 2 ofwhich are original (one dated 1795) and 2 of which bear the date 1872. Plain parapet with moulded cornice; balustrading above entrance bay. Rough-dressed rubble rear with much disturbed masonry. 12 and 16-pane windows and a modern fire escape to first floor. Out of character flat-roofed modern extensions to groundfloor rear.

Adjoining the R side of the house, a triple-arched section of walling, a surviving fragment of the pavilion wings.

Interior

The entrance hall has an open segmental arch with around arch within leading to the stairwell; Ionic columns and engaged columns, and a dentilated entablature. Dentilated plaster cornice to hall and a wooden fireplace with moulded egg-and-dart entablature; engaged Doric columns and scallop-headed niches. Well stair on 3 floors with swept mahogany rail and decorative iron balusters. Moulded doorcases off hall with 6-panel mahogany doors. Drawing room to R with decorative plaster cornice; moulded architraves with gadrooned and carved overdoors. These flank a restrained marble fireplace with panelled pilasters and foliate carving to central plaque. Shallow segmental-arched niche to rear wall containing twin doors. Reeded window architraves with panelled shutters. The L ground-floor room has an Adam styleplaster ceiling and cornice and panelled splays as before. Wide segmental-arched opening to rear room with plaster cornice.
Modernised upper floors have been partitioned off and false ceilings inserted.

Reasons for Listing

Included at Grade II* as a highly important late C18 regionalhouse.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Nannau at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17743944

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)