The Rectory

Cadw's description

Location

In its own grounds on the SE side of the churchyard.

History

An external stack in the gable end suggests a C17 or early C18 origin, and the house is shown as the 'Parsonage' on the town map of 1742. The house had probably been enlarged by 1753 when it was described as a 3-bay house incorporating kitchen, parlour, buttery cellar and scullery, with 3 rooms in the upper storey. Several ancillary buildings included a stable, granary, cow house and barn. The present house, being late Georgian in character, is probably a remodelling and perhaps enlargement of the 1753 house, and it is shown in its present form with an added rear wing on the 1849 Tithe map. A veranda and bay windows were added to the front in the 1920s.

The house was the birthplace of the antiquary Angharad Llwyd (1780-1866), daughter of the rector John Llwyd (1733-93). Angharad Llwyd was a prize-winning essayist at national eisteddfodau and her chief work was 'A History of the Island of Mona' of 1832.

Exterior

A late Georgian 3-bay house of 2 storeys with attic, of scribed stucco S front, renewed slate roof on moulded eaves board, with early C20 end brick stacks. The central entrance is within a hipped veranda with fish-scale tile roof carried on wooden posts, and integral with the canted bay windows to the outer bays, which have 2-light small-pane windows. The doorway is in a moulded surround and has a panelled reveal to a half-lit panelled door. The upper storey has segmental-headed windows which are tripartite small-pane hornless sashes in the outer bays and 16-pane sash to the centre. The L gable end has an external stack R of centre but reduced below the eaves and modified to present apex stack. To the L of the stack is a pair of 12-pane horned sash windows. An inserted window is upper L while the attic has a small window replaced in an earlier opening on the L side.

The rear faces a small walled yard. A central segmental-headed horned sash stair is centrally placed, to the L of which is the lower rear wing. This has 2 hornless sash windows in the upper-storey of its gable end. Its E side wall has a single window replaced in an earlier segmental-headed opening, and a small-pane sash window to its L. In the R (E) gable end of the main range is an added late C19 canted bay window with 4-pane sash, above which is a small-pane hornless sash window.

Interior

The house is planned around a central stair hall with principal rooms R and L divided by thick partition walls, which have panelled reveals to the doorways and panelled doors. The windows also retain panelled shutters. The hall has a disc and corbelled plaster frieze. The dog-leg stair has balusters concealed behind boards. The attic stair has a plain balusters and newels. The attic rooms have boarded doors.

Reason for designation

Listed as a well-preserved late Georgian house with earlier origin.