Castle Farmhouse

Cadw's description

Location

Prominently sited adjacent to Raglan Castle the farm is approached from its own drive and shielded from close public view.

History

Farmhouse, probably built in the 1640s by the 5th Earl of Worcester to serve Raglan Castle. Though long used as a farmhouse, it may have had a different original use, perhaps a lodgings range.

Exterior

Farmhouse, long, large range in C17 red brick with red pantile roof, brick gable copings and brick stacks. Large triple diagonal-shafted ridge stack and rebuilt left end stack. Two storeys and loft, 7 bays, the seventh distinct with through-arch to farmyard. Rubble plinth with brick chamfered top, moulded stone dripcourse above ground floor right, nogged brick course over all of first floor. Main part has 6 2-light limestone recessed chamfered mullion windows to first floor, the seventh bay to right has another such window but set somewhat higher, to accommodate the archway below, with brick Tudor-arched head. The ground floor is more altered, one similar window in sixth bay, and frame of another, altered to a door in fourth bay. First and third bays have broad triple windows with stone voussoirs to shallow arched heads, C20 glazing. Second bay has a Tudor-arched door in flat-headed wave-moulded surround with moulded spandrels. Another doorway in fifth bay, depressed-arched moulded stone surround, C20 door. Similar mullion window to right end gable.

Interior

Not available for inspection at time of resurvey (December 1999). Said in 1982 to retain original massive floor beams and double-collared trusses (with queen posts below); otherwise interior was C19, possibly because construction was incomplete when the castle was beseiged, and was abandoned until the C19.

Reason for designation

Included as an important surviving part of the Raglan Castle group, with fine surviving architectural character of a formality not found in the 'regional' asrchitecture of the period. Notable as a very early example of the use of red brick.