Penoyre House, Yscir (Ysgir), Powys

History

Large Italianate mansion in Bath stone built for Col. J. L. V. Watkins MP in 1846-8 to designs by Anthony Salvin. The Watkins family had origins in Llanigon and married into the Pennoyre family of The Moor, Clifford, Herefs. Pennoyre Watkins 1721-91, a lawyer, founded the family fortune, buying also the Broadway estate at Laugharne, Carms, where he died. His younger son Rev Thomas Watkins (1769-1829) inherited the Brecon estate and built a house on the site in 1799, named after his father. Col. Watkins (1802-65) was Liberal MP for Brecon 1832-4, 1847-52 and 1854-65, High Sheriff 1836 and Lord Lieutenant 1847-65. He ruined himself rebuilding the house which is said to have cost £33,000 and died at the Old Bear Inn, Brecon. The house was sold in 1868 for £24,000, but was deserted when the Rev. F. Kilvert visited in 1870. Sold c. 1874 for £45,500 to Sir Anthony Cleasby (1804-79), Baron of the Court of Exchequer 1868-78, High Court judge 1876. The house passed to his son R. D. Cleasby (1838-1909), High Sheriff 1890, and then to his daughter Mrs Lucy McClintock, died 1939. The name seems to have changed to Penoyre under R. D. Cleasby. He removed the original heavy slate slab roofing, and the conservatory dome. Sold to Merthyr Corporation 1947 as a special school, and then 1967 to the Penoyre Golf Club. Subsequently used as a nursing home, unoccupied 2004.
The house is said to be a recasing of the house of 1799 with added entrance tower and conservatory, but plans of the original do not survive to prove this. A description of 1816 by the Rev. B. Newton says that the ground floor had four rooms, one with a circular end and another a complete circle, which suggests a smaller plan. It is among the finest of the Italianate country houses of the earlier C19, the style particularly favoured for recasting C18 houses (cf Harewood, Yorks). Marked to present outline on the 1847 Tithe map.

Exterior

Country house, Bath stone Italianate style, three storeys with three main facades, brick service range across back and long single-storey orangery extending W from N end of W front. Principal facade is S block of five bays (the outer bays closer spaced) with hipped slate roof and two centre ashlar panelled chimneystacks with gabled caps. Moulded eaves cornice with lion-masks in top moulding and modillions, deep frieze with guilloche band below over upper windows. Windows are in shouldered architraves with husk drop ornament beneath shoulders. Second floor square casement-pair windows with panelled sills interrupting a moulded string course. First floor long windows with casements and top lights, in similar architraves but with frieze, cornice and pediment, the friezes and cornices linked with wave-pattern in the frieze. The centre window has additional side-lights with frieze and cornice. Ground floor is set within a fine classical loggia extended one bay beyond the main block each side, to return down the E and W fronts. Within are long windows with top-lights in simple raised surrounds, the centre one also with long side-lights. Loggia is balustraded with piers over the divisions below. Deep frieze and cornice broken forward over chanelled piers of the centre bay and the rusticated-arched outer bays. Openings arranged 2-1-2 have Roman Doric columns (centre columns in the 2-bay sections, attached column responds). The outer pavilons are arched on all four sides (two arches within loggias.
E end is windowless with all the string courses carried around and similar but bigger chimney on right corner of the roof. Two bays of the loggia with centre column, column responds and rusticated right pier. The entrance tower is joined at angle to loggia with a short one window link back at first floor.
Tower is square with rusticated ground floor, two ashlar floors above and large open belvedere stage with pyramid slate roof. Mouldings generally carried around, cornice over ground floor, first floor sill course, cornice over first floor with wave-mould frieze, sill course under second floor, deep frieze and main cornice under belvedere. Ground floor has big arched opening with radiating voussoirs on S, impost band and massive bearded head keystone. Within arch is ashlar recess with panelled pilasters, panels to arch and top roundel, framing triple window with plain fanlight. First and second floors have broad outer piers with mouldings carried across and upper cornice broken forward over. First floor has window with architrave, the head between the large ashlar scrolled brackets of second floor balcony with pierced ashlar balustrade of intersected circles and outer piers. Second floor long casement pair with architrave, cutting through sill course which is at level of balcony rail. Belvedere has broad outer piers with plinths, paired applied pilasters, and deep entablature, the lower parts broken forward. Broad centre has plinth broken for centre balustrade under main opening, narrow sidelights flanked by square piers with matching responds. Entablature above, set back from that over out piers, but continuous eaves cornice with lion masks. E face is similar with main entry in ground floor arch. Double half-glazed doors and plain fanlight. Watkins arms in stone on cornice above the bearded mask keystone. N side matches S side. To right is ashlar plainer two-storey range of 6 bays, the right end one slightly projected. Architraves to windows similar to those elsewhere, but without pediments, cornice over ground floor and at eaves.
W front is similar to S front but longer with big bowed centre and canted slated roof. Centre is flanked by two similar chimneys, and there is a larger plainer one at left corner of the range. Five bays but with additional blank features between the outer windows, blank plain recess to second floor, blank arched niche in moulded frame to first floor. Ground floor loggia as elsewhere. Bowed centre has triple window each floor, similar in detail but with narrow sidelights. The long first floor triple window has a curved pediment on consoles over centre. Loggia has three-bay bowed centre with two columns and attached responds. Within loggia, ground floor is windowless to right, bowed centre has long French window with sidelights. Left side has a door in architrave.
NW two-storey range at right angles has loggia carried across front, but glazed. Range behind of two bays has pediment over left bay and first floor window in shouldered architrave, right bay has similar window. Ridge chimney between bays. Ashlar one-bay W side has first floor window, roof is hipped to NW angle.
Orangery to W is single storey, echoing loggia in having framing channelled piers over which the main entablature breaks forward, but square piers instead of columns to the 6 full height glazed openings. Glazing is full-height, tripartite with small panes, the upper ones painted white.
The end pavilion, which had the very tall pointed glazed dome, then a glazed pyramid centre roof, now has a low pyramid, covered in roofing felt, and flat roofs. Square plan with chanelled angle piers over which main frieze and cornice break forward, and a long narrow window each side of a projecting glazed portico. Porticoes are on the W, S and N sides, and have same entablature over main centre opening flanked by extremely narrow side lights between paired pilasters. Glazing also in sides of each portico. Glazing is small-paned with thick mullion and transom, double half-glazed doors to W and S.
Rear service range runs across back continuing from hipped corner of NW range to abut rear of range to right of entrance tower. Pink-painted brick, with small-paned sashes, two storeys to two bays to right (rear of NW wing) and three to the five main bays, with continuous eaves on square dentils. Three ridge stacks. Roof is leaded apart from on NW section. A timber decorative half-hipped canopy on upper floor, possibly shelters a bell. To left, a similar painted brick return is the rear of the range to right of entrance tower, brick-faced also on hipped N end.
To N of service range is detached parallel range, once linked by a bridge. Red brick two-storey, with E end small Italianate tower with timber pyramid-roofed top stage. Seven bays with coach arches to ground floor, windows above. Hipped roof.

Interior

The interior plan is around a centre square hall opening onto grand stair to N with polygonal small ante-hall and square porch under tower to E, green drawing room (dining-room) to NE, blue drawing room (library) across the centre and two E bays of the S front while the two W bays are the end of the ballroom which includes the two S bays and the big curved centre of the W front. Rear service ranges and kitchen, long single storey orangery running W from the NW corner, with cruciform W end feature formerly with giant pointed glass dome, later a billiard room.
Full-height hall with imperial staircase. First floor balustraded gallery behind marbled Corinthian piers, domed lanterns over. Detailing includes arabesque lunettes, painted friezes, pedimented doorcases, niches and archways with guilloche surround etc.
En suite public rooms: SE library with coffered plaster ceiling and columned screen; SW ballroom with panelled dados, Edwardian dining piece and bowed end; NE dining room with rich plasterwork ceiling bands and original chimney-piece. Bedrooms include an oval room over the ballroom.

Reasons for Listing

Graded II* for its exceptional architectural interest as a country house in the Italianate style, an early example, contemporary with Queen Victoria's Osborne, with stonework of exceptional quality.

External Links

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British Listed Buildings

History in Structure

Penoyre House

A Grade II* Listed Building in Yscir (Ysgir), Powys

Coordinates

History

Exterior

Interior

Reasons for Listing

External Links

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