History

Built in the period 1560-70 by Owen Phillips, chief constable of the Hundred of Knighton. The house passed by marriage to the Probert family in 1669, but by the C18 was a tenant farm. The house was bought in 1845 by Sir John Benn Walsh, later Lord Ormthwaite, and as a house belonging to the Ormthwaite Estate it underwent some minor changes. The present fenestration is mainly C19. A dairy and pantry were added in the C19 in a single-storey projection against the original parlour, which is shown in a photograph of c1900, although a photograph of 1969 shows it to have been demolished. The present lean-to porch replaces canopies shown in the earlier photographs. The house was sold to the Pugh family, its present owners, in 1945.

Exterior

A 2½-storey house comprising main hall range with cross wing, forming a T-shaped plan. Of rubble stone, slate roof and stone stacks. Windows are mainly late C19 with wooden frames. The S entrance is on the L side of the main range, within a lean-to porch added in the late C20, and has a pointed doorway with continuous chamfer and boarded door. To its R is a 3-light window under a brick segmental head. The upper storey has a 2-light window to the L and 3-light window to the R, with a blocked window in the centre. In the R gable end is a large stepped, projecting stone stack offset to the R side. The cross wing has 4-light window in the lower storey and 3-light window above, both under brick segmental heads, and 2-light attic window. The L side wall of the cross wing is dominated by the external stack, with 2 square shafts, offset to the R side. To its immediate L is a blocked doorway with wooden lintel, formerly leading to the added pantry and dairy, the outline of which is visible on the ground. On the L side is a C20 4-light window with concrete lintel and 2-light window above it under a wooden lintel.

The rear of the cross wing has a 4-light window under a concrete lintel, inserted on the L side in the position of a blocked doorway. Above it is a 3-light window on the L side and 6-pane attic window L of centre. To the L of the cross wing is a stair turret under an outshut roof, with inserted half-glazed door, and a small-pane window lighting the stair. The rear of the main range has a 4-pane lower-storey window, 6-pane window above, and a blocked door at the L end.

Interior

The hall has a heavy framed ceiling with plain chamfers and retaining 2 carved bosses. The fireplace has a large timber lintel, and a small cupboard beside it. On the L side of the entrance is a post-and-panel partition with 2 ornate triangular doorheads. The parlour doorway on the L side has foliage spandrels, incorporating roundels, and a small carved head over the apex of the door. The service room has a simpler door head with carved spandrels, and a rabbit's head over the apex of the ribbed door. The parlour has a heavy framed ceiling similar to the hall, and an oak-panelled partition.

The dog-leg stair, immediately opposite the entrance, is a C17 alteration and has turned balusters and square newels. At the top of the stair is a triangular door head. In the upper storey are original box-framed partitions in the cross wing. These are obscured by re-set Elizabethan panelling on the landing, profusely ornamented with arched panels, strapwork and fielded-panel doors.

Reasons for Listing

Listed grade II* for its exceptional architectural interest as a fine C16 house, especially notable for its interior detail.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q17738949

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

• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)