The Old Barracks

Cadw's description

Location

Fronting the street near the W end of Rosemary Lane, but entered from the yard on the N side.

History

A single range, incorporating a house, is shown on the 1829 town plan as an outbuilding of The Hermitage. By 1889 it was used as a barracks, for the Royal Anglesey Royal Engineers Special Reserve Force. Now converted into apartments.

Exterior

A 2-storey block of whitened rubble stone, slate roof and 2 added blue-brick stacks. Facing the courtyard is a 2-window dwelling at the L end, where the wall is rendered. It has a replacement glazed door and overlight to the R, and a single-storey projection on the L side. In the upper storey are 12-pane horizontal-sliding sash windows. Further R the elevation has scattered fenestration and added external steps to a first-floor porch L of centre. To the L of the porch are 16-pane horned sash windows in each storey. Beneath the porch are 2 replacement ground-floor doorways. Further R, in the lower storey, are a 4-pane horned sash window and boarded door. At the R end is a passage under a renewed steel lintel. In the upper storey, on the R side of the porch, are 4 windows with 12-pane and 16-pane horizontal-sliding sashes.

The rear, facing the road, is more regular but the windows form 3 distinct sections with 2 windows each, in which windows are set at slightly different levels. At the L end the wall is of whitened rubble stone. It has double-boarded doors, with small inserted pedestrian door, to the passage and to its R a small-pane top-hung casement window beneath a lintel. Two 20-pane hornless sashes in the upper storey are partly in brick surrounds. On the L side is a cast iron street sign. The central section, of scribed roughcast, has small-pane top-hung casements in the lower storey (of which the R-hand was possibly originally a doorway), and 20-pane hornless sashes in the upper storey, all under cambered heads. The R-hand section, also of scribed roughcast, has horned sash windows, 16-pane in the lower storey, shorter 12-pane in the upper storey. The L gable end facing the entrance to the Hermitage, is pebble-dashed, the R gable end facing the entrance to Summerhill, of scribed render.

Interior

Not inspected.

Reason for designation

Listed for its special architectural interest as an outbuilding retaining C19 character, as an integral part of a group of outbuildings associated with a large early C19 house now known as The Orchard, The Hermitage and Old Barracks Cottage, and for its contribution to the historical integrity of Rosemary Lane.