Tan-y-castell

Cadw's description

Location

Situated in terraced row between Broad Street Farmhouse and Bank House.

History

Early to mid C18 painted brick town house with top floor added c1920, replacing three sloping-roofed dormers on eaves. Remarkable broad late Georgian shopfront, premises of Francis Lucas, painter and glazier, in 1858-9 and 1880 directories. The left half of the shop was chemists premises of L. Rowland & Co from 1924. The whole was later a cafe. The right half now an estate agents premises. Marked on 1833 map as owned by the Powis estate, occupied in 1839 by John Lloyd, with a shop.

Exterior

Terraced house, painted brick, Flemish bond, with slate roof and small brick stack to right of centre, and brick stack to rear SE wing. Three storeys, three bays, the top floor with three early C20 wooden casement pairs. Original house has full-width band over ground floor and band over first floor stopped just beyond the windows, which are three 4-pane sashes (replacing 12-pane sashes in old photograph) with gauged brick heads. Ground floor has ledged door to through-passage to left, with cambered head. The main feature of the front is an early C19 shop front set to the middle and right. This has outer thin reeded pilasters, overall broad curving fascia and cornice slightly broken forward over centre door. The two broad shop windows are gently curved outward toward the centre, each of 32 panes deep on a painted brick base. The recessed central doorway has deep flush-panelled reveals and flush-panelled six-panel door with lozenge tracery to overlight and lozenges carved on lintel over door head.
Rear has whitewashed rendered gable with brick stack on roof slope. Leaded cross-window on first floor.
Stone setts to front.

Interior

Square lobby with two fielded-panelled six-panel doors, one to shop on right and one to house straight ahead. Ground floor left room has two stopped and chamfered ceiling beams. Two similar in right room, with ovolo stop. Left room has brick S wall with big fireplace arch. Crude staircase is late C17 in style, but probably C18. It has solid closed string and pierced wavy slat balusters. Matching landing rail. Two big N-S chamfered beams in rear wing each floor, N end timber-lintel fireplace backing onto front room chimney. First floor has two massive axial beams in front rooms, and two beams at right angles in E room. Fireplace on back wall without surround. Leaded cross-window in back wall. timber-framed partitions on both floors into rear wing. Steep attic stairs with flat balusters. Attic with surviving heavy purlins at back and one at front.

Reason for designation

Included for its special interest as a C18 town house with good surviving interior detail and an exceptionally fine shop front.