History

Gentry house of the mid to later C17, extended with separate C18 house joined at rear corner, an exceptional example of the 'unit-system' of joined separate houses. The house belonged to the Parry family from the C17. Blanch Parry, died 1630 was High Sheriff 1619, Joshua Parry, High Sheriff 1724. Parry descendants were rectors of the church, the Rev Gregory Parry rebuilt it in 1710, another Rev. Gregory Parry died in 1785. Marked on 1842 Tithe map as owned by Sir Joseph Bailey of Glanusk, occupied by Magdalene Davies, with 342 acres (138.5 hectares). Occupied by Garnett Morris, farmer, 1926.
The original plan of the C17 house had front door opening onto a large hall with ornamental ceiling, part of this now divided off as through passage.

Exterior

Two joined houses, whitewashed rubble stone.
Older SE house has large two-storey, three-window front, corrugated iron roofs and no end chimneys (all chimneys on rear wall). First floor windows have stone hoodmoulds, over longer 4-pane sash to left and two wider 6-pane sashes to right, all C19. Ground floor left has hoodmould over broad 6-pane sash. Centre door is square-headed with ten-pane overlight. Small C20 window to right. Door has C19 gabled slate canopy on two thin iron posts. Marks of relieving arches over left window and to right of porch. Stone sills.
Right end has hoodmoulds to attic and first floor centre windows; small square attic window with no sill, 4-pane first floor sash. Ground floor has 6-pane sash with timber lintel set to right, and a relieving arch over a blocked opening centre left.
Left end wall has hoodmould over centre ground floor C18 oak two-light window, the hoodmould indicating that the original window was broader. Relieving arch over. Flat dripstone over first floor casement, and another over blocked attic window. Straight joint to added SW rear wing.
Large SW rear wing has stone corniced stack on ridge (rear of main range), and stone corniced W end stack. S side has blocked window to first floor left, long 4-pane window to right, and long window to ground floor centre left, with timber lintel. W end wall has square external chimney breast flanked by attic windows, broad door to ground floor left.
Rear centre stair gable, set back from SW wing, but forward of rear wall. Hoodmoulded windows each floor, at intermediate levels: blank square attic window, square second floor window, triple casement to first floor, relieving arch over hoodmould. Ground floor C20 lean-to, obscuring door to right. To right, on left back wall of main house, is massive pair of wallface chimneys, that to right in angle to stair gable, is corbelled at eaves level, and has string course under tall corniced stack. That to left without corbels, with stringcourse at same level, and diagonally-set tall square shaft touching other shaft. Narrow space between rear left corner of C17 range and front left of C18 house is filled by a slated lean-to against side of the stair gable (the access between the two houses).
C18 house has slate eaves roof and stone end stacks. Two-storey, five-bay E front with 12-pane horned sashes, except to ground floor left which has two tripartite 4-8-4-pane sashes with stone voussoirs. Centre part-glazed door with 3-pane overlight in C19 gabled porch on two thin iron columns. N end wall has door to right, stone dripcourse and loft light above. Rear has projecting stair wing to left of centre, and a C19 gabled dormer on eaves each side. W end has small single light in gable, and a C18 two-light timber window at mid height to right, with dripstone. S end gable has two small loft lights and first floor small window.

Interior

Older house only inspected. This has through passage, principal room to right and E room divided axially into two dairy and scullery rooms. Moulded arch on back of front door. Stone flagged hall. Right room and hall passage have rustic C17 plaster ceilings. Right room has two beams and plaster decoration in 3 strips, the outer ones with oval centre panel with four-petal flower, and two plant motifs, small-leaved like mistletoe, one each side. Centre strip has similar plants but centre wreath border to circle. Entry is in corner from hall, C19 four-panel door, modernised fireplace on back wall. Larger beam over partition to hall which has similar plaster ceiling: two bordered squares with circular wreaths, and two plant forms. Beam over left partition. Plank door to left stone flagged room with two massive whitewashed beams, dairying slate slabs around, and axial partition to rear room. Rear room has ends of the same beams, with run-out stops to chamfers, stone-flagged floor. The end-wall window is split by the partition, but has remains of C18 fielded panelled reveal.
End of hall has arched doorway to right to straight flight of enclosed stairs. Oak broad stairs running back up parallel to hall. First floor not inspected, chamfered beams. Rear SW wing has very large fireplace in ground floor room.

Reasons for Listing

Included at Grade II* as an exceptional example of the unit system where two separate but joined houses are built, each unit of merit as good examples of C17 and C18 smaller gentry houses.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q17744273

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

• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)