Brooklands Hall (School and Golf Academy)

Cadw's description

Location

Located on a hilltop, approached along a winding drive off the A490.

History

Large gentry house, built in 1867 for Mrs Curling of Maesmawr Hall, by W.H.Hill, architect of Shrewsbury.

Exterior

Yellow brick with sandstone dressings, steeply pitched slate roofs. Irregular and picturesque in French style. Two storeys, rising to 3 in the set-forward entrance block. Entrance porch raised over steps, of 2 wide bays, on late Romanesque style columns and moulded and billetted round arches. Double panelled part-glazed doors within a shouldered arch, and side windows. Heavy dentilled parapet to flat roof. First floor over porch has round arched windows between similar columns having sandstone shafts. Steep half-hipped attic gable with twin windows and family crest over. All windows with plate glass. Flat coped roof to added library to right of entrance block. Prominent triple round-shafted chimneys with heavy round moulded heads.
E front has half-octagonal bay with hipped roof, the ground floor windows in shouldered openings with round heads and carved tympana, and a further similar bay on the N front. Originally 3 small dormers in the roof (drawing of Jan 1866 in hall). North front plainer, with 5 window bays and a 2-storey canted bay to the left.
West of the entrance block is a single storey link to the billiard room, now the chapel, set forward and angled, and is extended further to the stable block.
The stable block has a round central bay containing a 2-centred carriage way closed by diagonally boarded doors. Roof is half hipped. Two light transomed windows with flush stone heads and sills to right, those to left having been altered to 4 metal framed windows for as laboratory. Slit vents at high level. The block has stacks to centre and right gable end, the left end. hipped. Rear elevation is of red brick. A roundel with the initials H/ C F 1867 is displayed on the right gable end over the chapel roof.

Interior

Outer hall leads through a heavy Tuscan arcade to the inner stair hall rising through the house to a roof light, with axial heavy stone fireplace. Stair has twisted balusters and timber first floor gallery around, supported by timber brackets rising from a heavy cornice. SE corner room retained as parlour; marble Adam style fireplace with Ionic 'pressed beef' columns and central panel carved with cherubs. Fine plaster cornice. 'Rope' carved architraves to 6-panelled doors. Dining Room to rear has bolection moulded fireplace in streaked grey marble. Applied wood strips outline wall panelling and dado. Fluted Adam style fireplace in headmaster's study with original iron grate. Cornice with fleurons and rope mouldings. Library has eared chimneypiece and marble slips, paterae frieze and fleuron embellished cornice. The billard room is canted at both ends and has an arched recess to a semi-domed apse. Half panelling and fireplace obscured.

Reason for designation

A well-preserved and robustly detailed mid C19 country house in the French manner, and one of the few remaining works of this little known architect.