Aberdare Hotel

Cadw's description

Location

Prominently situated to left of the Town Hall, N of the road bridge over River Cynon, immediately below A4059, New Road.

History

Early C20 (c1910?) refronting of a Victorian building that is shown on the first edition OS map surveyed 1874 and in a photograph of 1899; the present facade is shown in a photograph of 1921. There was a revival in the use of terracotta as an architectural material in the later C19 continuing into C20. James Doulton's definition of 1886 is: ''That class of ware used in the construction of buildings which is more or less ornamental and of a higher class than ordinary bricks, demanding more care in the choice and manipulation of the clay and much harder firing and being consequently more durable and better fitted for moulded and modelled work''. Faience is a glazed terracotta. Formerly attached to neighbouring buildings. The Aberdare Canal was to rear, but already superseded by the railway when the hotel was rebuilt; New Road was created in 1930s along the canal route.

Exterior

Public House with distinctive 3-bay facade of decorative white faience in a free Classical manner. Rubble walls are cement-rendered to side; slate roof with rock-faced stone stacks. Two storeys and attic and cellar. The symmetrical design of the facade is crowned by a parapet that has scrolls to ends and a central semicircular pediment with finial. Ionic pilasters to ends and centre with elaborate blind cartouches enriched with festoons and masks; implied plinth by the use of green tilework across the bottom - this is continued on the jambs of the central entrance. The attic windows are enriched by festoons; central keyblocked oculus below pediment and square-headed small-pane tipping casements with shouldered architraves to sides above cornice. First floor windows are square-headed and the outer ones are tripartite - replaced glazing. Wide segmental headed 3-light ground floor bar windows with keystones; later frosted glazing; central round-arched doorway with keystone and recessed door; above is a cartouche and to left and right the original metal ‘Aberdare Hotel’ lettering set within scrolled panels. Base rubble plinth. Lower cross range to rear.

Interior

Ground floor interior altered and refurbished.

Reason for designation

Listed for the special interest of its highly decorative facade and as one of the earliest examples of faience-facing in Wales. Group value with the Town Hall adjacent.