The Castle Inn

Cadw's description

Location

Situated in the village on S side of A40, facing over lane running S to Pontarhydfer.

History

Early C19 coaching inn on turnpike road from Brecon to Carmarthen.

Exterior

Hotel, painted stucco with slate hipped roof, missing the original end chimneys. Paired brackets to the eaves. Three storeys, three bays, with hornless 12-pane sashes and painted stone sills. Ground floor has plate glass sashes with sidelights, and centre early C19 six-panel door with bordered panels and rectangular overlight with applied fan tracery. Panelled reveals, thin pilaster responds, all original, but timber porch rebuilt in late C20.
N side to main road is of three storeys, but same roof height, with paired brackets to eaves. Small W end chimney. Windows at differing heights to left than those to centre and right. Left has a blank window to top floor left, a narrow 12-pane casement slightly higher under eaves to right, and a plate glass sash to ground floor right. Centre has small-paned casement to second floor (lower level than those to left) over a flat-roofed two-storey projection with canted three-sided front. Projection has broad angle raised strips and thin raised plinth and top band. First floor has hornless 16-pane sash set flash in architrave. Ground floor has remarkable surviving double bowed shopfront with two 20-pane curved windows and centre former door with traceried overlight, the three bays divided by thin moulded pilasters with square rosettes at tops. Panelled soffit over overlight. Fascia with raised blocks over the pilasters and flat shelf cornice. Former door has been replaced by two casements with marginal glazing bars. Stuccoed wall under bow shop-windows and centre window, low plinth. Right side is three-storey, two-bay with top floor small-paned cross-window and blank window, first floor two hornless 12-pane sashes, and ground floor has C20 window in opening of former sash to right.
Rear W has two gables, the right one asymmetrical. Added single storey wing to right.
S end, of rubble stone, has C20 window under eaves to centre right, and 6-pane window to ground floor centre, and one window each floor to right, all hornless sashes with cambered heads with stone voussoirs. Stone flat-roofed porch in angle to a projecting gabled wing with one window each floor, stone sills, cambered heads.

Interior

Interior not inspected.

Reason for designation

Included for its special architectural interest as a large Georgian coaching inn, with fine surviving double bowed shopfront to side.