3 Quay Street

Cadw's description

Location

Situated in terraced street some 25m from junction with St Mary's Street.

History

Terraced house probably built in earlier C18, in a style popular in London from late C17 to c1730, built as one of a pair with No 2, marked on 1834 map, presumably originally red brick, stuccoed in C19. In 1884 occupied by Miss Anne Jones, lodging house. In 2002 offices of solicitors and accountants.
Quay Street is the most complete street of C18 houses left in Carmarthen, the street formed in the early C12 and already by the late middle ages the street of Carmarthen's most prominent families. No 19, which has been demolished, was dated 1698. It is not yet possible to establish precise dates for the other houses but most of them seem to be of early to mid C18 date, some retaining panelling and staircases of the period.

Exterior

Terraced house, painted stucco ground floor with rubble stone plinth and painted roughcast upper floor. Slate deep-eaved roof with heavy moulded eaves cornice with modillions and large red brick stack to right. Basement, 2 storeys and attic, 5-window range of early C18 design albeit with altered detail. Two small sash dormers each with sloping slate roofs and slate cheeks. Horned 4-pane sashes to both floors and central doorway. Three square 6-pane basement windows and one blocked, with timber lintels. Three renewed grey stone steps up to renewed 6-panel door with plain reveals, overlight with rectilinear tracery and boarded hood on carved and scrolled trusses as in No.2. Upper floor has strips each side of windows in imitation of timbering, and the moulded brick band is also cement clad. Roughcast rear wall with lean-to to ground floor left. Near-detached rubble stone rear wing.

Interior

C19 half-glazed inner door, one earlier C19 6-panel door, and 2 4-panel doors. Two-panel ceiling in left ground floor room and 4-panel ceiling in right room both with mouldings around panels and plastered beams. Wide dogleg C18 staircase as in No 2, with closed pulvinated string, moulded rail, turned balusters and square newels.

Reason for designation

Included as an important earlier C18 town house, a pair with No 2, in the most important C18 street surviving in the town.