Ye Old College, Yr Hen Coleg (D. Wyn Roberts Ltd, Tailors, and 1-3 College Court)

Cadw's description

Location

Fronting the street at the SE end of a block of commercial buildings.

History

A storeyed house of c1500. A drawing of 1811 by J.S. Cotman shows a gable-end house of stone in the lower storey and timber-framed above, with oriel window. This window survived to at least 1950, and retains its ribbed brackets with a coat of arms ascribed to the Stanley family. In the late C19 an additional taller bay was added on the L side, and the original section of the building was re-roofed at R angles to the former roof. The shop front is from the 2nd quarter of the C20.

Exterior

The present shop and house comprises the 2-storey single-bay original house on the R side, and the taller narrower and gabled 3-storey C19 bay on the L side. Walls are rendered and roughcast under a steep slate roof on overhanging eaves. The original house retains high-quality timber-framing in its upper storey, incorporating chevron bracing. It also retains the ribbed coving of a former double oriel window. On the outer sides of the coving are ogee arches with blind tracery, and in the centre heraldic shield with birds around a central small shield. The window now has modern 3-light steel-framed casements, above which is a beam, possibly the tie beam of a former gable.
In the lower storey the mid C20 shop front has been built across both bays, with low stall riser and simple deep black fascia. Plate glass shop windows have thin stainless steel frames, and features a central island, behind which is a terrazzo floor leading to a central glazed door and overlight. The L-hand bay has a 1st-floor wood-framed cross window and 2-light pointed 2nd-floor window with Y-tracery.
The L side wall has a 4-pane sash window in 1st and 2nd floors. At the rear is a 2-storey wing behind the older part of the building, converted to separate apartments, and with replacement windows.

Interior

Not inspected, but the original house is said by RCAHMW to retain an arched-brace truss with curved collar beam, and windbraces concealed by plaster.

Reason for designation

Listed as incorporating one of the few surviving pre-Georgian buildings in the centre of the town, with significant timber-framing of high-quality, and for its later commercial use including an unaltered early C20 shop front, making an important contribution to the historical townscape.