Ty-newydd

Cadw's description

Location

The house is reached from a drive off the road leading W of the village centre, past Lloyd George's grave.

History

The house is of later C16, extensively enlarged in the mid C18, and further extended and remodelled by Clough Williams-Ellis, architect of Portmeirion, in 1945 for David and Dame Frances Lloyd George on his retirement from active political life. He had bought the 37 acre (15ha) farm for this purpose in 1939. He died in the library on 26th March 1945. It became the Writers' Centre for Wales in 1990, running creative writing courses in Welsh and English.

Exterior

Built of local stone rubble, whitewashed, with a hipped slate roof. Two storeys, attic and basement, being the remains of a single pile farmhouse aligned NE to SW, probably originally of 3 bays with a central living hall. The 5 window main NW front remains from the C18 enlargement, having a central 6-fielded and panelled door with fluted pilasters on tall dies, triglyph frieze and a pediment, and with a 3-pane overlight all by Clough Williams Ellis, and 12-pane sash windows with wide boxes and plain heavy glazing bars on ground and first floor, all the joinery painted his characteristic blue-green. A central hipped dormer of 1945 with cut-out scrolled supports on the hipped roof. The roof at the rear is extended down without a break over the older rear accommodation, but has the addition, by Williams-Ellis, of a projecting apsidal library in rough whitewashed rubble, carried on two rubble columns, oversailing glazed doors and a 12-pane sash window to the present dining room. This extension has continuous 5 large paned windows in the apse using bevelled glass, and the roof is a slated semi-cone. A rear dormer of the C18 house is partly concealed. The SW end elevation has a garden door from the office, and a raised hipped dormer, whilst the W elevation has a similar dormer and two tiers of voids as nestboxes for doves of peace.

Interior

The front door opens to a cross passage leading to the stair, across the end of a large room occupying the NE end of the front; this has an C18 plaster full cornice. Two symmetrical panelled cupboard doors at the far end. To the right of the passage, the office (swyddfa) has a fireplace on the rear wall and dentilled cornice. The stair at the rear is partially boxed in, but retains part of a handsome 'Chinese Chippendale' balustrade. On the first floor the library is entered through a six-panelled door and has a vaulted plaster ceiling. At the lower level, the dining room has part of a good C16 post and panel cross partition with a shaped doorhead against the rear wall and a moulded head bressumer. Carpenter's marks on the lower panels, the better finished face in the end room. At the NE end of the dining room there is a plain open fireplace with a high timber fire lintel, the depth now reduced.

Reason for designation

Included at Grade II* as a fine C18 house incorporating elements of a sub-medieval house, all subtly modified and adapted by Clough Williams-Ellis, architect as a retirement home for his friend, the ex-Prime Minister, David Lloyd George and his second wife Frances Stevenson, who lavished affection on the building in their later years.