History

Site of a monastic grange associated with Margam Abbey, referred to in 1186, and purchased by Sir Rice Mansel in 1545 for the Margam estate. The house was built c1600 and has a T-shaped plan-form with hall and parlour in the front range and kitchen to the rear. The symmetrical front and plan-form reflects a rare example of Renaissance ideals, combined with more traditional elements such as a lobby entrance.

The farm was subsequently sold to the Briton Ferry estate but was repurchased by the Margam estate in 1820. A stable with granary was added to the end of the kitchen range c1800. Later, a dairy was built in the angle of the hall and kitchen, extended to form a new lean-to kitchen on the W side of the hall in 1936. These additions necessitated the insertion of new doorways, and the blocking but retention of the original doorways. Some additional windows were inserted in the early C20, whilst the stable and granary have been converted for accommodation.

Exterior

Symmetrical 2-storey house with T-shaped plan. Rendered or roughcast rubble stone under slate roofs. Masonry end stacks and to centre of front range. Additional stable and granary to rear of rear wing. The front range, facing S, is 3-bay with central lobby-entry. Planked front door with overlight under shallow segmental head. Sunk-chamfered mullioned windows with lying panes under square hoodmoulds, symmetrically arranged above entrance and to ends. Added ground floor windows flanking entrance, similar but with straight hoodmoulds.

In the W gable is a small attic light offset to the R. Single storey lean-tos have been added to the gable end and rear of the front range, with C20 windows and a door. In the W side of the rear range, a planked door has been inserted to the R along with a 2-light casement window. To the L is an original doorway (blocked internally) which provided a lobby entrance in front of the N end stack. It is sunk-chamfered with a flat head and ornate stops. The upper storey has 2-light mullioned windows under hoodmoulds, above the new door and to the rear of the main range. The added stable range to the L of the N end stack has an external stone staircase leading to the former granary. Stable doors below to R and a 3-light window under a flat lintel to the upper storey. Below the eaves is a row of nesting boxes for doves.

To the N gable end are 3 tiers of nesting boxes in the gable flanking a 4-pane window. Below the nesting boxes is a pair of similar windows. At ground floor level, offset to the L, are planked double doors under a wooden lintel with a small boarded window to the R. Large single storey lean-to against E side of stable with 2 planked doors and a ventilation slit to the L. To the L, the house has two 2-light mullioned windows under hoodmoulds to each storey, but that to the L ground is C20. Single light window to far L near angle with front range. To the rear of the front range is a similar 2-light mullioned window to the upper storey. There is a small attic light in the E gable, offset to the R.

Interior

Lobby entrance facing back-to back fireplaces with hall to L and parlour to R. The kitchen was in the rear wing with an entrance (now blocked) next to the fireplace at the N end. Access to the dog-leg timber staircase is from the SE corner of this room. The staircase may have been replaced at some point. The current kitchen is within an L-shaped lean-to on the W and N sides of the hall. The lean-to on the N side was formerly the dairy and contains a bench with stone slabs. A 3rd original doorway (now covered) led from here directly into the hall. All the cross beams, at both ground and 1st floor level, are deeply chamfered with hollow fillet stops. The back-to-back fireplaces are retained but have been modernised, whilst that to the N is blocked. Planked doors within timber frames, some moulded, and sunk-chamfered mullioned windows with seats within the splayed reveals.

Reasons for Listing

Listed grade II* for its outstanding Renaissance-inspired plan-form, and for its well preserved detail.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q17740400

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

• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record