Snowfield

Cadw's description

Location

House located on high land on the S side of the Mule valley, accessed by a road leading approximately 0.7km off the S side of the A.489, W of Kerry.

History

The house, formerly the centre of a small estate, was built c1832-40 in a Waverley Gothic style for Edward Davies, a tea-planter, also of Philpot Lane, London, who probably had family connections in the district. The architect is not known, possibly Robert Lugar or J.C.Loudon. The plan is symmetrical, with a central square stair hall, with entrance lobbies front and back, and two rooms of similar size each side.

Exterior

Brick, painted, with tiled roof and brick axial stacks. Two storeys, three bays, originally symmetrical about the recessed central bay, and extended to right by a further bay, gabled at end. Low pointed-headed moulded windows with hood moulding and stops, the windows with heavy decorated style tracery. Entrance was originally within the central bay, an arcade of triple arches, and with Gothic timber doors, the first floor originally recessed, as on rear, but brought forward and tile hung, forming a smaller gable with the original window reset. The rear elevation is in the original form, the triple arcade having a moulded string and small gable in front of the pent roof. Bargeboards probably replaced.

Interior

Gothic glazed screen to front and rear lobbies, with internal door to hall, the front altered. Open well stair around hall, the stair with stick balusters arched at the head, and curved soffit to each tread. Doorcases and doors of gothic pattern, with small coloured lights in the doorhead. Main reception rooms, on SE side, have elaborate wide coving with intersecting vaulting ribs to a central octagonal flat. The two service rooms on the NW have four cross beams on corbels. First floor rooms have pointed vaults, with small vaulted lobbies off a landing on 3 sides of the stair well, which also has small square vaults in each corner. Two original Gothic stone moulded fireplaces to first floor. Oak floors. A landing window, originally set forward in a pointed gable within the recess of the entrance side was later reset in a tile-hung front for a new room constructed in the recess over the entrance porch. The house was further extended on the service side in the 1950's in a matching idiom.

Reason for designation

Included as an unusual ingeniously planned and well detailed house in the Gothic style, unusual in the district.