History

Late C18 or early C19 substantial town house, formerly called Clynderwen House and its service wing, used separately as the Amberley Hotel in earlier to mid C20, now restored as flats linked to No 89. Said to have been a town house of the Earls Cawdor of Stackpole. Occupied in late C19 by W. O. Hulne, Town Clerk and in 1926 by J. V. Rees. Long garden with high side walls and crenellated high retaining wall across.

Exterior

House, unpainted stucco lined as ashlar, with high plain parapet and plinth. Two houses in single range, No 89 the principal house is of four close-spaced bays while No 91, the former service range, is of only two bays though of similar scale. Rendered renewed end stacks and one between houses, parapet is continued in curve on end walls up to chimney.
Both houses have small-paned hornless sashes, 9-pane to top floor, 12-pane to first floor, with tooled stone sills. Ground floor of No 89 has from right: a C20 renewed 16-pane sash window, aligned between the two upper right windows; doorway in third bay with fine stucco doorcase of three-quarter Ionic columns and entablature, six-panel door with the upper four panels fielded, lion-mask knocker; stone step with 2 bootscrapers; C20 renewed 16-pane sash in left bay. Second top floor window from right is dummy.
No 91 has ground floor openings not aligned, set to right of openings above: a low ledged door to through passage to right and a C20 renewed 12-pane sash to left.
Rear of No 89, four storeys has wing projecting to left with early C19 curved bow, basement, three long 16-pane sashes, each floor above, shallow hipped roof behind. Two-storey, two-bay lean-to to right. Some slate-hanging. Rear wing to No 91 with red brick chimney, slate-hung to first floor W.

Interior

Fine interior, carefully restored in early C21. Front hall has tile floor with encaustic tile border and centre mosaic with initials of W. O. Hulne. C19 black marble fireplace, fielded panelled 6-panel door to wig-cupboard to left of fireplace. Boarded dado. Moulded cornice. Doorway to hall with Georgian Gothic tracery to fanlight. Fielded-panelled 6-panel door to W front room with polished black marble C19 fireplace and cast-iron grate. Moulded cornice, acanthus ceiling rose, panelled shutters. Arched hall arch. C19 half-glazed door from hall to stair hall with etched coloured glass. Broad first flight of stairs up to half-landing with C19 etched and coloured glass window: roses in border and yellow crosses in patterned panes. Drawing room in rear wing has very large curved S end, with long sash windows, apparently added to original room which has a leaf cornice, rose-scroll ceiling border and acanthus centre rose with leaf sprays. C19 marble chimneypiece with two columns. Brass and iron grate. The room was originally wallpapered on canvas. Doorcase with reeded pilasters, cherubs and festoons, with fielded-panelled reveal. Open-well stair has ramped scrolled rail, three flights and landing, square newels, closed string. First floor E front room has leaf cornice and leaf ceiling border. C19 plain fireplace and grate. Fielded panelled shutters. Narrow dressing-room now bathroom has fielded panelled door, similar door into W room, and panelled shutters. W room has fielded-panelled door, simple cornice and panelled shutters. From landing above, access to bow-ended room in rear wing, with reeded ceiling border, 4-panel fielded-panelled door, and long windows in surrounds with reeded pilasters and corner roundels. Shutters on stair window. Attic above rear wing has hipped roof with two pegged collar trusses apparently of reused timbers. front range top floor e room has simple fireplace, W room has one window only, the dummy window not apparent internally.
Fielded-panelled 6-panel door to under-stair.
Between Nos. 89 and 91 is a tall narrow stone-vaulted through passage, now enclosed.
Basement kitchen is bow-ended, slate-flagged with cupboards on W wall, double to left, single to right. Frame of cast-iron range between with panelled pilasters and shelf. Three beams, one bead-moulded. Wine-cellar under stairs with slate shelves. Cellar under front range with cobbled floor, ceiling beam.
No 91 is much altered internally, rooms in rear wing at different level to those in front. Simple stair with square balusters, square newels in four flights. Front room has slate fireplace with half-columns, roundels above and later C19 ornate cast-iron grate. Plain panelled shutters. Four-panel doors to top floor.

Reasons for Listing

Included at a higher grade as a substantial town house which has retained much of its pre-1840 character including a finely detailed interior.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q17743037

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

• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)