The Assembly Rooms

Cadw's description

Location

Situated at corner of Tower Hill.

History

Early C19 former assembly rooms, later church hall, rebuilt internally as flats. The assembly rooms were built c. 1805, described as new when a dinner was held there in 1806. There was an upstairs ballroom, refitted in 1818 with new floor by Joseph Mathias of Haverfordwest. In 1924-5 it became the St Mary's church hall, converted by W. D. Caroe, used until the 1950s. By the 1970s it had become unsafe. Converted to flats in 1997.

Exterior

Former assembly rooms, now flats, painted stucco with slate hipped roof and no chimneys. Facade was described in 1974 as being of stone rubble. Two storeys, four bays with two six-pane square openings on first floor right, equivalent to lower half of 12-pane hornless sashes to left. In 1974 the right hand pair were blocked. Ground floor has three large 12-pane sashes, which had visible stone voussoirs in 1974, and a tall doorway in the left bay. Doorway has been renewed in late C20 with tall architrave frame and two long console brackets supporting a thin shelf cornice over a narrow frieze. The architrave frames a blank top panel over a recessed doorway with 6-pane overlight. Windowless left end. Tall rear to Dark Street of three storeys and three bays. Top floor has two square 6-pane windows and one long 12-pane sash to right; first floor has two 12-pane sashes and a very big tripartite 4-12-4-pane sash to right; basement has 16-pane sash to left and right, that to right in set in a blocked arched recess and centre tall arched doorway with radiating-bar fanlight over 6-pane overlight over C20 door, flanked by narrow 8-pane windows.

Interior

Interior not inspected, said to have been wholly altered in conversion.

Reason for designation

Included for its special historic interest as former Georgian town assembly rooms.