Plas Ffynnon

Cadw's description

Location

To the NW of the village centre, set back from the road behind dwarf brick forecourt walls.

Exterior

A 2-storey mid-Victorian house, built as the vicarage to St. Mary's Parish Church in Tudorbethan style. Dated 1877 and attributed to John Douglas, architect of Chester. Of brown brick with red brick and sandstone detailing under a steeply-pitched tiled roof with oversailing eaves and plain ridge. Asymmetrical facade with advanced, 2-storey gabled porch with moulded purlin-ends,
brackets and plain finial. Tudor-arched entrance of tooled ashlar, stopped and moulded and with date 1877 carved in the spandrels. Brick label, returned and continued as a string-course around the sides. The upper storey is corbelled out to the L in 2 stages in ashlar. 5-light brick-mullioned
window, each light of 2 panes, with dentilated corbelling above. Single lights to L of porch returned on both storeys, the lower one leaded. Red/black quarry tiled floor to porch. 8 panelled door, the upper 6 leaded with flanking part-leaded, part-panelled sections.

To the R of the porch, a large lateral chimney, staggered and with tripartite stacks and diagonally-set shaft to centre. This has an inserted modern window to L at first floor level. Further, conventional stack with similar detailing to L of porch. 2- light window to R of lateral chimney as before with plain label and cill courses returned around the R (S) face. Moulded and dentilated string-course at first floor, returned as before. To the L of the porch, an 8-light mullioned and transomed window
with stone transom and leaded upper lights. 6-pane, 3-light window above. To the L of this, a buttress to the ground floor with tile and stone capping. This continues vertically to the
eaves as an off-set brick shaft. String course as before and label and cill courses also. L of the buttress, 5-light windows to both floors.

To the rear an advanced gabled bay to the L. 4,6 and 8 light windows as before. Large early C20 cross-wing addition to R in similar, though simplified style. N and S gable ends with decorative brickwork to upper, rendered gables. To the N a contemporary ground floor extension with hipped roof and modern window.

Interior

Pine joinery throughout, mostly now painted. 6-panelled doors with moulded stiles and rails. Wooden shouldered chimney-piece with moulded brackets in dining room. One- and-a-half turn staircase with acorn finials to newels and panelled side. Small gallery above. Listed as a finely detailed and largely unaltered Victorian vicarage attributed to the architect John Douglas.