The Hollies including former coach-house range

Cadw's description

Location

At the E end of Llanishen, near the railway station. Set back from the road in its own grounds, the front facing N.

History

The house is said to have been constructed in 1878 on land formerly owned by the Marquess of Bute. It was built on 1 of 4 similar adjoining plots, none of which are shown on the Ordnance Survey of 1875 (they are shown in 1920). The different styles of the 3 surviving houses would suggest that they were not designed by the same architect. In 1891 the house was owned by a doctor.

Exterior

House in Italianate style of 2 storeys and attics constructed of red brick under a hipped slate roof with square brick stacks. The most distinguishing feature is a wide terracotta frieze in relief in the form of the Parthenon. This is beneath the saw-tooth dentilled eaves. Similar band to string course with Greek-key frieze. Both continue around the house. Other detail includes square-headed lights, either paired or single, containing horned sashes, in moulded terracotta surrounds with keystones; brick plinth; freestone sills or sill bands. The front of the house is 4-bay, the 3 bays to the R symmetrical; central entrance in front of which is mid-C20 flat-roofed brick porch, with planked doors to either end and 2 small-pane windows to front. Two decorative stone brackets associated with the original doorway survive to either side of the porch and support balustraded parapets of freestone and moulded terracotta. These support a pair of projecting stairlights under round-arched heads with keystones and fluted stone imposts; 2-light windows with small-pane and radial glazing above stained glass. The entrance is flanked by paired lights to each storey; the far L bay has single lights. Upper storey with narrow openwork iron window box holders and continuous freestone sill band. To the attic above the symmetrical 3 bays, are 3 bullseye dormers with moulded wooden surrounds and small-pane glazing with ventilators; the central dormer retains decorative side brackets and a finial. Large brick stack to their L and small ridge stack R of centre.
East end has 3 single lights to 1st floor, grouped and offset slightly to R, with detail as front including iron window box holder. Inserted fire-escape doorway to L, reached by external steel staircase. Bullseye dormer to centre of attic storey. To ground floor, from R: 4-pane horned sash window, original doorway with basket arch containing recessed boarded door, adjacent later doorway with concrete lintel to boiler-room, 2 single-light horned sashes, and C20 window to far L.
The rear elevation is 3-bay with paired windows as front to upper storey with iron window box holders and sill band. Three bullseye dormers to attic, the finial preserved to the central window. Full-width late C20 lean-to canopy over ground floor openings. Plain glazed French doors to centre with flanking side lights. Late C20 single light to R; further glazed doors to L, and small flat-roofed bay to far L.
Two projecting stacks to W end, between which is a single light with window box holder to 1st floor and a bullseye dormer to attic. Adjoining the ground floor is a flat-roofed C20 garage, linking with a former coach house. This is a gabled range orientated N-S of one-and-a-half-storeys, of red brick under a slate roof with tile cresting. Cupola to centre of ridge with swept pyramidal roof. Gabled doorway with boarded door to upper storey facing E; C20 multi-pane window under segmental brick head to lower storey, R of garage. To the N end is a wide opening for vehicles with timber lintel.

Interior

No access to interior at time of inspection (2/5/01). The house is now converted into 2 flats and the staircase arrangement is said to have been altered.

Reason for designation

Listed as a large Victorian house of most unusual character; the Parthenon frieze is of particular interest. A good example of the late C19 large suburban houses in Cardiff. Group value with 90 and 96 Station Road.