Halkyn Castle and attached Stable Block

Cadw's description

Location

In extensive grounds approximately 300m S of Halkyn Church.

History

Built 1824-1827 by John Buckler, architect, for second Earl Grosvenor, later first Duke of Westminster, whose family held important mineral resources and owned a large estate in the region. Additions were made in 1886 by Douglas and Fordham, architects of Chester, for the first Duke of Westminster. The house was used as occasional lodgings and sporting lodge.

Exterior

Castellated style mansion of 2 and 3 storeys with turrets, towers, many stacks; of buff ashlar and chiefly mullioned and transomed windows under hood moulds.

The main entrance faces roughly N and is asymmetrical. It has 3 windows (central shallow oriel to first floor), an ogee-roofed turret to R, and a similar turret to the L incorporated into a projecting gabled block (added 1886) which has projecting stack. On the ground floor is a single-storey porch with 4-centred arch, buttresses, turrets with pinnacles, pierced arcaded parapet, and carvings of lion and lioness. A panelled door has elaborate strap hinges. To the L of the porch is a 4-light Tudor window, and to the R is a mullioned and transomed window.

The E front (originally symmetrical) has a central 3-storey projecting bay flanked by castellated turrets, 2-light window to the top storey, and a splayed 2-storey bay window below. To the L are 3 windows then a pinnacled turret. To the R is the projecting drawing room block of 1886, which has a diagonally set gabled 2-storey bay window. A single-storey block is to the L of this elevation with attached low garden walls. The S elevation has, to the L, a 3-storey octagonal tower with crenellations and machicolations, and a taller NE stair turret. To the R of the tower the elevation steps back via a block with splayed corner. Below are single-storey service blocks. Prominent groups of diagonal chimneys are visible from the S. The W elevation, of rubble stone, has a central bay flanked by castellated turrets and 12-pane sash windows.

To the S of the house screen walls and a stable block form a yard entered through a 4-centred archway with a gable bearing an heraldic shield. The 2-storey 3-window stable block has a parapet, hipped slate roof with 2 dormers, and paired diagonal stacks. A central broad Tudor arch gives access to the stables and workshop. The sides and rear of the stable block are rendered. Lower blocks have hipped roofs and large carriage entrances.

Interior

The inner porch has double part-glazed doors. A long corridor leads from the porch to the rear of the house. A Gothick glazed screen and door leads to the service area. To the R of the corridor is a wooden staircase of 1886. To the L of the corridor is a large asymmetrical drawing room, with panelled ceiling (more elaborate to 1886 extension), wood panelling (approximately 1m high), and 2 fireplaces with Tudor arches and wooden panelling over. Other ground floor rooms are in a similar vein, while the dining room has a panelled chimneypiece by Douglas and Fordham, of 1886.

Reason for designation

Listed grade II* as early and exceptionally well-preserved castellated mansion by an important practitioner of the style, and built for an important regional aristocratic family.