History

The external character of the house, and much of its internal plan, is that of a late C17 or early C18 Renaissance farmhouse. However, elements of the structure visible internally seem to be indicative of earlier origins: the scale and quality of carpentry in a ground floor room seems more consistent with a late C16 date. Perhaps part of an earlier house on the site was incorporated within a Renaissance rebuild. Limited remodelling in the early C19 - from which period the staircase and some other internal joinery appears to date. The farm is thought to have been one of the principal farms of the earls and marquisses of Worcester, growing corn to support the large household at Raglan castle. In the mid C18, the Rev. Henry Burgh, son of John Burgh, who was the chief steward of the Duke of Beaufort, lived at Penrhos.

Exterior

Large Renaissance farmhouse. Roughcast walls with hipped pantile roof. Tall brick end-stacks have stone
bases with offsets and C20 brick flues with simply moulded caps. Two-storey S front is symmetrical. The
upper wall is coved below the eaves. First floor has four 2 2 pane casement windows, with flat window-
heads and painted brick sills. Centre wall carries Beaufort crest with coronet (quarterly, 1st and 4th
Somerset, 2 Herbert, 3 Woodville, the whole encircled with the Garter). At first floor level is a continuous
string course. On ground floor is a central entrance doorway with gabled hood, slender scrolled consoles
and C19 6-panel door (upper three panels sunk, bottom three flush). Ground floor window openings are
segmental arched with painted brick sills. Windows throughout were all renewed c2000 with timber casements. Rear elevation has centre full-height stair wing with hipped slate roof, flanked by cat-slide continuations of the main roofline (with roof-lights added c2000), and enclosed at ground floor level by a large C20 lean-to.

Interior

The original plan has been partially opened out, but the basic layout remains: essentially a central entrance hall flanked by two principal rooms on the ground floor, with two subsidiary rooms at rear, to either side of the stair wing. Right hand room contains elements of what appears to be an earlier structure: large fire-place with sandstone jambs and heavy chamfered timber bressumer; 3 cross-beams (one against the end wall), with stopped-chamfers; broad chamfered joists, each stopped at only one end. Splayed opening to rear room, and a second doorway with pegged oak frame. Entrance hall has been opened out into left-hand room, though the partition framing is retained. 4 cross-beams, 2 of which also appear to be early, and are chamfered; the other two are rougher replacements. Staircase opens off rear of hall, and is probably early C19, with open string, circular newel, swept handrail and slim spindles. Left-hand room has fireplace with chamfered stone lintel; 4 cross-beams: 2 again seem earlier and are chamfered. Shutters to ground floor windows are probably early C19. Plasterwork which had been thought contemporary (moulded ceiling cornices with acanthus decoration) has been removed.

First floor is planned with 4 rooms opening off a rear corridor: the end rooms have large walk-in cupboards to either side of the fireplaces. Attic of 6 bays with collar trusses and 3 tiers of trenched purlins (all the timber limewashed); divided by a probably C17 partition which has boarded door with strap hinges, inscribed in rough italic script 'Chees Room' (sic). Roof over stair tower has curved collar truss.

There is a cellar under the right-hand section of the house, accessed via a doorway in the C20 extension which encloses the stair tower: doorway to cellar is planked and nailed and has strap hinges.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as a late C17-early C18 farmhouse of regional Renaissance type, retaining the form, plan, and some detail from the period. The house also incorporates some fine detail probably from an earlier period, and retains some good detail from an early C19 remodelling.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29501334

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

• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability