Penrhyn Castle

Cadw's description

Location

Situated overlooking sea, approach by track of some 400m running N off lane, some 1km NW of Poppit Lifeboat House.

History

Penrhyn Castle was built in 1835-36 by Oliver Lloyd, a solicitor of Cardigan, as a “marine” residence, on land he leased in 1835 from Jonathan Rogers Powell, a solicitor of Haverfordwest, and Powell’s first wife Anne, née Tullet. Penrhyn Castle is marked on the St Dogmaels 1838 Tithe Map.

Described in 1870 as a castellated house with a flagstaff. On the death of Jonathan Rogers Powell in 1872, his son William Turner Powell sold Penrhyn Castle at auction in 1873 to John Rees of Hendre, for £450.

On 4 June 1877 John Rees and his wife Laetitia sold Penrhyn Castle to the Admiralty for use as a coastguard station – a substation to the St Dogmaels Coastguard Station. The roof was remodelled, the castellations were removed, and by 1891 the house had been converted into two self-contained flats – a ground floor flat and a first floor flat – to station two coastguards and their families

Penrhyn Castle Coastguard Station was closed after WWII and was sold at auction by the Ministry of Works in 1948. Recombined into a single dwelling in 1949 and porch added in early 1950s.

Exterior

Whitewashed stucco with slate hipped roofs and brick stacks. Two storeys. East front range facing sea has full-height canted bay with three large 12-pane sashes below, three smaller 12-pane sashes above. To right, set back, is a N side lean-to with 12-pane sash each floor in E wall, the lower one formerly a door, under a cat-slide roof. Red brick stack on N roof slope. S side has large sash to ground floor right, smaller first floor sash to left, then slight projection end-left end section with similar window each floor under hipped roof with brick W stack. W entrance front has gabled stuccoed porch with arched doorway and slate roof, and one 12-pane sash above. End of N side lean-to to left with 12-pane sash each floor.

Wash-house in separate building to left with chimney in rear gable. Extended and converted to garage in early 1950s, with four-leaf door, modified in 1960s.

Interior

Not inspected. Slate fireplace surround with carved dish and swag motif in sitting room.

Reason for designation

Special historic and architectural interest as an 1830s gentleman’s house, converted for coastguard use by the Admiralty, and then back to a domestic residence.