Former coach-house and stables at Wenvoe Castle

Cadw's description

Location

The stable courtyard forms a large rectangle attached to the back of the former castle.

History

Main house was built to designs of Robert Adam for Peter Birt in 1776-7; it was mostly demolished in C20 though the surviving E pavilion forms the centre bay of the present club-house for Wenvoe Castle Golf Club. The stable courtyard, N of the house and attached to the rear of the former E pavilion, is attributed to Henry Holland, who was working at Cardiff Castle in the late 1770s and is contemporary with the Adam house of 1776-7. The whole property was taken over by the Golf Club in 1930s and has been adapted to its use since. The cobbled stable yard survives under later tarmac.

Exterior

A quadrangular stable yard with buildings on 3 sides and an alcoved terrace built into the hillside on the fourth. Built of coursed dressed stone with ashlar dressings; mainly artificial slate roof with modillion eaves. Main entrance on the E downhill side. This has a central rectangular tower with wide and high carriage arch; shallow -pitched pyramidal roof with modillion eaves cornice; this is surmounted by a leaded clock tower, the clock faces in arched recesses, open above, with a bell-shaped roof and weathervane. All glazing replaced in UPVC ; openings are mainly unaltered though some are blocked or blind. Outer frontage consists of a long near-symmetrical 2-storey range with slightly projecting bays at each end and at centre: each bay except the centre has a 3-window range: small wide rectangular openings with sills to upper level under modillion eaves cornice; ground floor, below a dividing moulded string-course, has tall rectangular windows, tall round-arched openings at right end; tall centre archway reaching to just below eaves level with keystone and impost band has similar flanking windows to each floor; shallow plinth.

Inner face of this main entrance frontage, which also projects slightly, has a blind oculus flanked by blind/blocked rectangular windows to upper level. Tall carriage arch below with voussoirs and keystone and continuous impost band; upper loft openings across the range are small and wide; similar arches to each side, wider but altered to right, with blocked tympanum, tall flanking ground floor windows to each arch. The left range has a projecting pedimented central entrance bay with blind oculus; imposts and keystone to the carriage arch which has a part-glazed head and double boarded doors. Upper openings are similarly horizontal; on ground floor the section to left has an archway with semi-circular head flanked by rectangular windows; similar to right though the segmental-headed arch is lower; similar windows either side of the central carriage arch; extended at end to form shop at upper level. The right range is similar to left which it faces; both side arches have cambered heads; the central high arch now houses the club entrance, with modern coloured glass in pediment oculus. The terrace range, a revetment wall to the bank, has a series of segmental, round or basket-arched alcoves in the slope, some blind, blocked or altered, with a double flight of steps flanking the central projecting section leading to the higher parkland beyond.

Interior

Interior has been converted to golf-club use but some basic original fabric survives including roof trusses, stable floors, plaster etc .

Reason for designation

Listed notwithstanding alterations as a neo-classical building by a nationally important British architect. Group value with the Castle and the kitchen garden wall.