The Bothy

Cadw's description

Location

On the W side of Dairy Square, NE of the castle, and overlooking the Formal Garden. The wall to the rear of the house forms the NE boundary of the fo

Exterior

History: The house was built in 1906 (architect not known), adjacent to a site which had at one time been occupied by a dove-house, and other agricultural outbuildings associated with the castle. The wall to the rear of the house, and the outbuildings against its inner face, appear to be C18; the rear wing of the house also appears to represent an earlier survival, while the outbuildings at the back of the small yard to the rear of the house are probably late C19 or early C20.

Exterior: The house is timber framed on a brick plinth with stone copings. It has red tiled roof, and brick and terracotta star-shaped stacks to gable end and rear. Close-studded pegged framing, with decorative quatrefoil panels flanking the windows, and curved tension braces at angles. Entered via a single storeyed porch with steep chamfered archway from Dairy Square, its principle elevations overlook the garden. S elevation is 2 storeyed, a 2-window range, with balustraded and arcaded loggia entrance (now partially filled-in) to the right. Wide gables with pierced trefoils in bargeboards over windows: left hand bay has single lights to ground floor and canted oriel window above; full-height canted bay window beneath right-hand gable with transoms to lower lights. All windows have chamfered mullions and leaded lights. W gable end has jettied upper storey carried on finely moulded brackets: 4-centred archway to recessed porch to left (with similarly arched panelled inner door), and canted bay window with mullioned and transomed lights alongside. 4-light mullioned window with quatrefoil panelled apron to first floor. NE rear wing is partially rubble and is probably of earlier date.

A high brick wall with stone copings forms the W boundary of a yard to the rear of the house. Against it is a range of timber-framed outbuildings, which are probably C18. The cross- range to the rear of this yard is brick with stone dressings: louvred vents in plain tiled roof. Paired doorways towards left and a series of mullioned windows with hood moulds.

The bothy is a very good example of the Neo-Vernacular 'Old English' style of Edwardian building, which makes a strong contribution to the character of the formal garden, laid out in 1912.

Reference: The National Trust, Powis Castle Garden, 1992.