Woodbine with front wall and railings

Cadw's description

Location

On the N side of Main Street some 25m W of its junction with East Back.

History

Early C19 front to a building with C18 or earlier core. Possibly the 'house and capital grocer's shop' lot 17 in the 1857 Orielton estate sale, with five bedrooms, sitting-room, kitchen, back-kitchen, shop and back shop, let to Edward Tracey from 1851. Reference in a deed of 1888 to John Jones, accountant, of Woodbine Cottage, may be to this house. The shop-window is one of the best surviving Georgian shop windows in the region, comparable with the smaller window at No 29 Main Street.

Exterior

Terraced house, painted roughcast and slate roof with C19 red brick stack to left and another to centre on ridge. Three storeys but with same roof and eaves line as the two-storey Nos 80 and 82. Two-window range, possibly once two houses. On upper floors, renewed sash windows, 9-pane on second floor, 12-pane on first floor the window to right set lower. On ground floor, from left: house doorway with six-panelled door, late Georgian C19 bowed shop-window of seven by four panes in casing of pilasters, fascia and cornice; thirdly, later C20 French window (replacing modern half-glazed doors) and to extreme right ledged door to through-passage.
Rear wing with twin gables to N, 16-pane hornless sash each floor on E side. Tall thin outbuilding to rear NE.
Front railings of later C19 date, cast-iron intersecting oval pattern with finials, on low wall of three courses of rock-faced grey limestone. Railings return to house on W side of passage. Slate paths to house and passage doors. Modern railings on W boundary.

Interior

Inside, passage along W wall with stairs at right angles. Kitchen in rear range with two beams, slate floor and fireplace with timber lintel and bread oven. Staircase has C20 balustrade. First floor E room has earlier C19 Gothic iron grate in black marble surround. W room has late C19 grate with tiles in plain surround. First floor room in rear wing with panelled shutters. Second floor E room has mid C18 chimneypiece with eared architrave and pulvinated frieze. Later C19 iron grate. Ground floor centre room has shop window and C20 chimneypiece. E room is narrow with low plaster ceiling; floor levels differ between two halves of house, lower on E.

Reason for designation

Included for its special architectural interest as a pre-1840 terraced house retaining a fine Georgian-style shop window.