Mostyn House

Cadw's description

Location

On the street line.

History

Early C18 town house, said to have been erected in1722. The house served for some time as the Denbigh residence of the Mostyn family, an important Flintshire gentry family with Denbighshire branches, notably (from the early C18) at Segrwyd, the former seat of the Dolben family.

Exterior

Large 3 storey town house of brick construction with stuccoed and pebbledashed elevations; medium-pitched slate roof behind a stuccoed brick parapet. Symmetrical 5-bay facade with stucco string courses and quoins (perhaps over primary stone ones) and decorative lugged and keyed architraves to the windows. Large modern double doors and shop windows to the ground floor. The first floor retains its 12-pane sash windows to the 4 outer bays, though only 3, squatter 12-pane sashes are visible to the upper floor. The central bay of the first floor has a C19 rectangular projecting oriel window with tripartite C20 glazing and a hipped slate roof; this has an heraldic plaster cartouche to its apron.

Interior

The upper flights of the fine, original oak stair survive. This is of narrow well type and has fluted and turned balusters and an exaggerated swept rail up to fluted columnar newels; large field panelled dado, surviving also to the bottom flight, with fluted pilasters having rustic Ionic capitals; scrolled tread ends. The first-floor landing has 6-panel fielded doors, plain moulded architraves and panelled reveals. The L first floor chamber has large-field panelling surviving to its road-facing wall; this is fielded and has associated fielded panelled window reveals and seats. Moulded plasterwork to cornice and ceiling margins (acanthus and palmette to the ceiling and egg-and-dart to the cornice), contained within 3 compartmented bays with dividing lateral beams.

The front R chamber retains its full raised and fielded large-field panelling, with window seats and reveals and deep moulded cornice. Contemporary stone fireplace with fielded sides and frieze and basket arch with simple panelled pilasters. Bolection-moulded architraves to this room, with 2-panel doors having panelled reveals. Pegged doorcases and original 2-panel door to the second floor, with a simple stone fireplace with similar basket arch and fielded faces. Brick barrel-vaulted cellar with stone descending steps. Ground floor panelling was recorded as having been recently removed in 1981; some moulded cornicing survives.

Reason for designation

Listed for its special interest as an early C18 town house retaining good external character and some fine surviving original internal features, within a particularly rewarding street.

Group value with other listed items in Vale Street; one of a number of fine town houses in this street, historically regarded as the gentry and professional quarter of the town.