Plas Hendy

Cadw's description

Location

Situated some 300m N of Bryngwyn church, on right side of lane.

History

Edwardian country house built in 1903-5 for Charles and Molly Crawley, two orphan grandchildren of the long-serving rector of Bryngwyn, Canon William Crawley, (1802-96), who were brought up by two unmarried aunts. Bradney calls it a new house built for Miss Sophie Crawley, one of the aunts. Occupied by one of the two children, C.W. Crawley until his death in c1993 and still owned by the family.

Exterior

Small country house in Edwardian 'domestic revival' style. Two storeys and attic. Ground floor of coursed rock-faced grey Forest of Dean stone with cambered-headed windows, stone voussoirs and sills, first floor whitewashed roughcast with flush small windows, half-timbered overhanging gables and red tiled roofs with dormers and tall shaped red brick chimneys. Near L-plan, the family wing facing W with slightly projecting crosswing to right and long service wing of almost equivalent size to main house, to left, enclosing entrance court. Windows are generally long with small-paned top-lights over plate glass casements on ground floor, small-paned casements to first floor, small-paned canted oriels under gables, and dormers are small-paned with canted sides and little painted wood pediments. Red-brown paint to bargeboards on curved brackets, vertical studding and cambered tie-beams in gables, to dormer pediments, to a continuous timber pulvinated band between the main floors and to rainwater goods.
Main front has left-of-centre porch projection with one-window range and dormer aligned each side. Porch has Tudor arched doorway with ashlar flush quoins, lintel and deep hoodmould. Lintel has sexfoil panels and carved coat-of-arms. First floor small canted oriel under tile-hung low gable. At right end, the short crosswing has elaborate decorative timbering to gable, over canted oriel. blank ground floor.
To left, kitchen wing has long roof and W gable with half-timber over canted oriel. S side, to courtyard has single casement extreme left and triple casement extreme right on first floor. Ground floor 2 8-pane windows and door left, and casement pair right.
S end crosswing was S side truncated brick chimney on roof left and dormer right, set high near ridge. First floor has only one casement pair, left of centre. Ground floor long window left and big canted flat-roofed bay of 2-2-2 lights.
E garden front has two brick chimneys just below ridge, the left diagonal-fronted, the right square, 4-shaft. Dormer between. Gable each end, that to left slightly lower and smaller. Each gable has canted oriel. Left of centre large stair light of 3x3 4-pane lights. Right of centre triple casement. Ground floor has French window with top-lights left, centre door with small window just left, long window right of centre, and big 4-light French window right, also with top-lights. Datestone at far right corner.
N service facade has half-timbered gable left of centre, not overhanging, two diagonally-shafted chimneys on roof slope right, dormer left. First floor casement pairs left and right of gable, and two large windows of 3-over-3 4-pane lights, one set slightly higher under gable beam, one to right. Ground floor has big square flat-roofed kitchen bay under gable with cambered-headed 4-light window and top-lights. Single light with top-light each side, casement pair set low, and big 3-light with top-lights further right. A small open timber-framed and tiled passage runs N from by kitchen bay to a single-storey hipped red brick outbuilding containing coal-house, laundry, and bread-oven. Timber arcade to front, 3 doors within, chimney W end and 4 windows rear.

Interior

Half-glazed inner door from porch into stair hall with stick baluster stair on rear wall with short S return. Square newels with top reversed bell-pull grips. White pained panelling below main flight and to stair dado. Corner SE room has C17 style moulded plasterwork to ceiling borders of type favoured by the Arts and Crafts movement. Painted wood fireplace with turquoise tiles. N of stair hall is study, small room, painted fireplace with red tiles. NE dining room has fireplace with blue tiles, simple cornice. First floor SE corner bedroom has fireplace with green tiles, Art Nouveau iron grate. SW room has similar fireplace with red tiles. Bathroom over porch. Loft up dog-leg stairs, rooms with iron fireplaces, and also coloured tiles.

Reason for designation

Included as an unusually complete example of the smaller country house of the early C20.