11 Castle Street

Cadw's description

Location

A detached building fronting the street.

History

Dated 1589 and built by John Birchdall, vicar of Conwy 1569-1607. His initials, and of his wife Elizabeth, are on a tablet. A rear wing was added on the R-hand side, extended in the C19. Another separate short rear wing was also added to the centre in the C19. The present fenestration and interior plan of the original building is C18 or early C19, and probably dates from when it became a posting house and a public house known as the Black Lion Inn. Walls were also partly rebuilt, in part to incorporate a roofed passage on the L-hand side. It was a house and shop by 1950.

Exterior

A 1½-storey 3-window house of cement rendered walls and steep slate roof behind coped gable to the R, restored stone stack L of centre, C19 stone stack to the R end, and original gable stack to the higher rear wing. A small brick stack is also on the R side to the rear roof slope, not visible from the front. The central entrance has a boarded door with strap hinges. It has a gabled canopy that has partly obscured an original stone tablet. This has, in raised letters and numerals, '1589 JB E'. A large central gabled dormer has a pair of small 4-pane sash windows. The entrance is flanked by projecting gables set back from the ends, probably added in the C18. Both have windows boarded up in the lower storey (originally for sashes), 12-pane horned sash windows to the attic, bargeboards with pendant finials. Further L is a passage with double doors and boarding up to the eaves.
The passage has a replacement door in an earlier opening. Behind the main range is a 2-storey gabled 2-window projection with 16-pane hornless sashes to the 1st floor, 4-pane horned sash window lower R, and the lower L window with glazing removed. The roof of the main range has a new roof dormer over the passage.
The rear wing side wall, facing the courtyard of the Bluebell Inn, has a blocked door in the lower storey and blocked window above. A later 1-storey projection is attached to the gable end. Facing the yard at the rear of the house, the wing has 4-panr sash windows, and the lower projection has boarded door and window openings in each storey, enlarged in the upper storey.

Interior

Not inspected, but RCAHM Wales survey c1950 and previous listing survey of 1975 recorded an original joist-beam ceiling in the L-hand room. The plan, with central passage, is later, and included an C18 or C19 staircase at the rear of the passage, with turned balusters.

Reason for designation

Listed as one of the few surviving pre-Georgian buildings in the town centre, retaining its overall C16 form with C18 addition and alteration, and for its group value within the historical townscape.