Church Inn

Cadw's description

Location

In the centre of the village nearly opposite the church. At the junction of Ty Glas Road and Heol Hir. The N front faces the road, the S front, a car park.

History

C18 vernacular house with lobby entrance, formerly with kitchen, hall and inner room. The building subsequently became an inn, and a parallel range was added to the N, probably in the C19.

Exterior

Georgian style inn of 2 storeys constructed of rendered stone under replaced slate roofs with rendered stacks. The earlier S range is wider and lower and the S front has a flat-roofed porch to L of centre, probably early C20; half-glazed and wood panelled with double doors. Hornless sash windows with flat heads to lower storey; wide 12-over-12-pane sash to R of doorway, 8-over-8-pane to L of doorway and to far R. Three similar 8-over-8-pane sashes under cambered heads to upper storey, not aligned with those below. Fire-escape door to far L reached by metal staircase. Adjoining the W gable of the S range is a lower bay of rubble stone, beyond which are large late C20 additions. The S range has end stacks and a ridge stack to centre. The R stack is corbelled at 1st floor level to the E gable end. The N front of the N range has a porch to R centre as S side. To its L are 3 x 8-over-8-pane horned sashes with flat heads; late C20 multi-pane casement to R of porch. The upper storey has 4 x 4-pane horned sash windows with cambered heads, symmetrically arranged. Stacks to L end and R of centre. W gable has small late C20 casement offset to R; single-storey lean-to below with large late C20 window to N side.

Interior

Inside the S porch is a part-glazed C20 door with cambered head. Lobby entrance with chimney straight ahead and doorways to R and L. That to R leads to a large E room (formerly hall and inner room). Original stone fireplace to central chimney with chamfered and slightly cambered timber lintel. The ceiling has 3 cross-beams, medium chamfered with ogee stops. To the L of the entrance is a smaller room (the original kitchen) which has a large bar to the R with boarded front, which runs along the centre of the building and also serves the N range. Near the bar is a cross-beam with ogee stops, with another encased or replaced to the W. Flagstone floor. Kitchens and cloakrooms beyond; there was originally a fireplace with bake-oven at this end. The N range is open-plan.

Reason for designation

Listed as an C18 house (and later inn) which retains its vernacular Georgian character and detail, a rare survivor of suburban encroachment around Cardiff.