Doldir

Cadw's description

Location

About half way down the road, to N (L) of Capel Moriah.

History

Built as doctor's surgery and residence in 1913, for Dr J R Prytherch, by Joseph Owen, architect, of Menai Bridge, and scarcely changed since.

Exterior

Arts and Crafts style house. Roughcast render and graded slate roof, the eaves overhanging on exaggerated, scrolled brackets. End wall and axial stacks. Two storeyed with attics. The front elevation is dominated by an advanced boldly asymmetrical gable to the right, with big full-height canted bay window with paired 8-pane sashes, and small-paned semi-circular window towards apex. Tripartite oriel window (lighting stairs), strongly moulded and with leaded lights, and domed cap to central bow, in the left of this gable, with round window offset beneath it. Entrance immediately left of the gable, in recessed porch; the door has 3 deeply moulded vertical panels and segmentally arched glazed light. Paired 8-pane sash windows to the left of the doorway, and small-paned mullioned casement window breaking the eaves line above. Rear elevation has gable to left, with full-height canted bay window with paired 8-pane sashes, and semi-circular attic window. Similar paired sashes to central bay, then advanced lower service wing to right, with similar windows, and single storeyed wing advanced against its gable.

Interior

The original layout and much contemporary detail survive. The house is planned about a central hall, with surgery etc to one side, principal living rooms to the other, service rooms to rear and staircase set to the front. Original details include all interior joinery (four-panelled doors with art-nouveau leaded and stained glass lights), fireplaces in all rooms including a series of tiled fireplaces in upper rooms, with wood panelled overmantles to principal bedrooms; fine decorative tiled fireplace to ground floor front room (the original drawing room) with vertically laid embossed tiles; leather-hung walls to rear dining room which also has good tiled fireplace with Neo-Jacobean overmantle incorporating mirror. Staircase is elegantly detailed in Art Nouveau style with exaggerated splayed newels with strongly projecting caps, and pierced detail to splayed principal balusters. The staircase is lit by a tightly curved oriel window, leaded and with stained glass.

Reason for designation

The house is a remarkably complete example of an Arts and Crafts house by a local architect; in its bold massing, lively composition, and carefully accented detail, the house exemplifies the expressive neo-vernacular properties of a strong Arts and Crafts tradition on the island, together with references to the dynamism of Art Nouveau.