Treasury Cottage

Cadw's description

Location

Backing on to lane running NE through Cathedral Close from Bishop's Palace towards Pont y Penyd.

History

Early C19 house, now subdivided into two, supposedly incorporating fragments of the much larger house built in late C15 by Treasurer Pole, of which N wing (of a courtyard building open to W) stood on this site.

Exterior

Roughcast rubble stone two-storey house, originally three-window, extended to four in later C19, in matching style, and with colourwashed rubble stone service wing to SW. Main house has slate roof, end stacks and ridge stack at original end wall. Original 3-bay front has tripartite 4-12-4 pane sashes in outer bays and 20-pane sash to centre over flush-panelled 4-panel door in pedimented painted timber doorcase. Doorcase has shallow open pediment on elongated brackets. At eaves an eroded stone moulded course, possibly cyma-moulded originally, may be a fragment of older building. Added C19 E bay has similar tripartite sash each floor. Rear 12-pane stair light and 4-pane sashes.

Attached at W end is low one and a half storey cottage or service range (Treasury Cottage) in colourwashed rubble stone with centre ledged door and overlight, 6-pane window to right and two first floor 9-pane sashes breaking eaves, the left on either added later or renewed.

Joseph Lord's 1720 map shows N wing of medieval Treasurer's House on this site with smaller W end section on site of service range, but interiors show no signs of earlier structures at present except for the odd feature of the plan that a long corridor runs the length of the rear wall, apparently as marked on 1720 map. Early C19 staircase with circular newel and one room with C19 iron grate in plain wood surround.

Reason for designation

Group value.