Rickeston Hall

Cadw's description

Location

Situated immediately W of Brawdy Airfield, some 2km N of A487.

History

Rickeston is named after a Norman, Rickart. In the C16 it was owned by the ap Rhys family. It was tenanted by Evan Griffith in 1740 and bought by Samuel Griffith in 1785, who renamed it Rickeston Hall. Early C19 gentry house, built for Samuel Griffith (d. 1824) though the rear wing may be older.

Exterior

Rubble stone with slate roofs and rendered stacks. Three-storey four-window front, three-bays evenly-spaced with end stacks and the fourth wider-spaced to right, with S end stack. Red crested ridge tiles. Grey limestone flush quoins, 12-pane sashes to main floors and 6-pane to upper floor, all with slate sills and painted brick cambered heads with keystones. 6-panel door with traceried overlight central to three-bay section. N end has small first floor and attic sashes, S end is rendered. Rear is outshut with slates partly grouted and centre projecting hipped stair-tower. Gothic sash with intersecting tracery at main landing level and radiating-bar roundel above. Rendered stack on roof slope at junction of SE rear wing.
SE rear range has big stone end stack, imitation slates to front slope and is double-fronted with 12-pane sashes, smaller on first floor, and centre door with overlight. Stone voussoirs to cambered heads, slate sills. E end has rounded bread oven, and three small windows, rear is outshut slightly overlapping the stair tower. Three rear windows.

Interior

Entrance hall with stairs to rear and main rooms each side. Room to left, probably former dining-room, has Regency chimney piece with iron grate, and segmental arched recess in rear wall with ornamented imposts. Room to right has deep cornice and slate chimneypiece, both have 6-panel doors, panelled shutters and picture rails. Curved staircase in curved stairwell, scrolled tread ends. First floor front rooms have 6-panel doors, cambered archway to landing. At the back to the south, there is a former external window splay between two bedrooms, evidence for the S end and rear wing being earlier. Main roof is of seven bays, with a further two at S end, with pegged collar trusses.

In the rear range, E end room with rough stone corbels to the ceiling and deep fireplace with bread ovens. To N, buttery and dairy with slate slabs, boarded doors and some good C19 fittings, the butter-churn and the cheese-press dated 1831. The attic was a corn-drying or seed loft, with slate skirtings, and perforated tiles by the chimney.

Forecourt and yard: Rubble walled forecourt to W and yard to S of house. Forecourt has S entry with square piers and NW entry to farmyard. Yard has square piers, steps of projecting stones at NE corner, poultry house on W side with two levels of square openings, boarded doors and corrugated roof, and a small rubble stone brewhouse or outside kitchen on S side, with grouted roof, brick chimney and lead-lined boiler. Poor condition.

Reason for designation

Graded II* as an unspoilt late Georgian gentry farmhouse, with surviving outbuildings. Group value.