Cathedral Court (Nos. 1-5 consec)

Cadw's description

Location

At the north-west end of The Cathedral Green and part of the important group of buildings surrounding it.

History

Built 1861-3 as The Deanery and designed by Ewan Christian, architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The Dean had previously been living in Llandaff House, Fairwater Road (qv) and later had to move again to the present Deanery in 1953. At this date the Bishop moved into this house and stayed until 1988, hence the name at listing Llys Esgob (Bishop's Palace). The name was changed to Cathedral Court when the house was divided in three shortly afterwards. Confusingly Llys Esgob remains on the gatepost as the present Bishop's Palace is in the garden beyond.

Exterior

Built of random polychromatic rubble with bands of thin roughly dressed coloured stone and pale ashlar quoins and dressings. Welsh slate roofs. Asymmetrical design with Gothic details. Two storeys with attic storey in gable ends. Mullioned and transomed windows and some windows with two-centred heads.
Entrance front (south-west) of six bays with end bay gabled. From north (left) to south, first bay with 2-light windows with flat heads and with a transom on the ground floor, all plate glass sashes, second and third bays in recession, third bay with 3-light window with cinquefoil heads to lights on first floor, and, on ground floor, a two-centred doorway and a 2-light window with quatrefoil in the head; fifth bay with large staircase window, two-centred and of 2-lights, porch to left with colonette s and curved buttress, 2-light window in left return; sixth bay comprises a gable end with stack on verge.
South-east facing front to garden of three bays with large two-storey canted bay at right hand end, 2-centred doorway between, all sash windows, one gabled dormer.
Rear elevation only seen from distance but this has a large 2-light window in a gabled half dormer, a gabled roof dormer and a massive kitchen stack which has been truncated. Steeply pitched roofs with tall ramped stacks.

Interior

Only the interior of No 2 was seen at resurvey which is the upper floor of the main house. The main staircase survives with a moulded balustrade and knop finials, and the Dean's Chapel now the sitting room. This has an apse into the bay window with the altar dais still in situ. Otherwise the interior seems to have been much modernised when divided in c1990.

Reason for designation

Included as an, externally, largely unaltered house by Ewan Christian and for its group value with the other listed buildings around The Cathedral Green.