Plas Derwen

Cadw's description

Location

At west side of a minor road to Deuddwr, about 1 km south of Llansantffraid bridge. Stable-yard buildings and walled garden connected at rear. Iron gate with brick piers and depressed stone ball finials.

History

An Arts and Crafts house of the Edwardian period, after the manner of C F A Voysey, thought to date from 1904. (It is absent from a map of 1903, but shown on a map of 1916.) The design is aesthetically advanced but the planning shows a typical C19 segregation of servants and family, and achieves a surprisingly small amount of family space for its size.

Exterior

A house of two storeys and an attic, part regular and part irregular in design in a carefully managed composition. Very prominent red tile hipped roofs with generous eaves, flat roofed cascading dormers and white painted roughcast chimneys with very tall terracotta pots of varied heights. The plan of the main part of the house is approximately square, designed with three main roof ranges arranged around three sides to give two prominent gables to the south side facing the garden, which is the only elevation to be symmetrical and might be considered the 'front'. White painted roughcast render with partial black painted timber studding at first floor level and partial red tile hanging at attic level; The window joinery throughout has white painted small-pane casements in black painted frames.

The garden elevation (south) is tile hung above eaves level. Verge of roof of M form with small central valley; the upper parts only of each gable project considerably and act as heads to the strongly jettied pair of attic oriel windows. First floor windows of three and four lights. At ground storey there are two bay windows with canted sides; lights of mullion and transom type with small panes above transom only or in door below transom; veranda roof linking the two bays. Two light window at centre behind verandah post.

The upper storey of the right side elevation (east) is timber studded, with a two-light window. Rendered below also with a window. Lean-to roofed bay at right with porch beneath a jetty; the porch is recessed, oval-arched and open-fronted, with decorative screening walls terminating in small battered piers with copings and small ball finials. Timber studding and a two-light window above. Semi-glazed doors and a round window at the inside.

The left side elevation (west) is similar but with a dormer window and a projecting gabled wing containing three upper windows and a three-light lower window plus to other windows in the lean-to roofed bay at left.

The rear elevation (north) to the service yard has its ground at basement level. Including the lean-to roofed part this has the greatest sweep of roof, with dormers at two levels. The lower dormers are in a broad range (eight lights) and abut a gabled wing to the right. One and two-light windows below; door at right with stairs from basement; service rooms below.

Stable yard buildings at rear, connected by yard walls: coach house at west; stable and coach house at north. The west building has a hoist over the doors in a hooded timber boarded gable.

Interior

The house retains features of Victorian planning notwithstanding its avant-garde architectural qualities aesthetically. A surprisingly small part was devoted to family use as against servants' use. Porch at north-east corner leads to staircase hall with main two-flight plain staircase leading only to the first floor. Main reception rooms to south; room to south-east is panelled. Kitchen premises to the north-west, the main room a servants' hall with small kitchen annexed; now all serving as kitchen. Separate rear stairs (lower flight now lost) from the kitchen area to part of the upper storey and to the attic.

Reason for designation

An innovative, striking and well-preserved design in the Arts and Crafts movement but with some oddly conservative elements in its planning. Well preserved contemporary stable yard buildings.