Birchgrove

Cadw's description

Location

Situated on W side of Afon Ystwyth, on B4575, some 200m NW of Pont Trawsgoed.

History

Smaller country house of the early C19 built as a dower house to Trawsgoed, marked on 1831 Colby map. Occupied in 1848 and 1860 by the Hon William Mallet Vaughan, brother of the 4th Earl of Lisburne, in 1860 and 1872 by Lord Vaughan, heir to the 4th Earl. In the 1880s occupied by the agent to the estate, Robert Gardiner, who later moved to Wenallt. It was then occupied by Major Crawley-Boevey, a relation of the then owner the 7th Earl of Lisburne. In 1922 the house was occupied by the land agent Mr Griffith and later let.

Exterior

Smaller country house, rubble stone with slate hipped roofs and bracketed eaves. Large rendered chimney on ridge in centre of E front and 2 on ridge of W rear roof, central valley between roofs. Late Georgian style: 2-storey, 4-window E garden front with 12-pane hornless sashes, larger on ground floor, all with stone voussoirs and slate sills, the bays spaced 2 each side of centre; 3-bay S entrance front is similar but with c1900 gabled half-timbered porch with lean-to to right. Porch is glazed between posts, has double doors and side-lights and glazing between struts of gable, slate roof with deep verges, painted brick low side walls. Lean-to to right has glazing in 4 bays. First floor window over porch has sash but is blind.
N side has blind window to first floor left over 12-pane sash, similar centre stair light and another similar sash to each floor right. Added narrow link to pyramid-roofed 2-storey water tower, added in late C19, small window each floor on N.
Rear W has 12-pane sash to centre over added lean-to rendered porch between 2 rear wings. Long NW wing is C19, in sections stepping down to the W, and short SW wing is earlier C20 painted brick.
NW wing first has 2-storey range with on S side, 2 dormers and two 12-pane sashes with brick heads each floor, the ground floor right one to left of window above, to allow for rear porch. Next range to W has straight joint, through arch to extreme right and 3-window range of 12-pane sashes and centre door, the lower windows smaller and hornless with brick heads, the top floor apparently added. Single storey range at right angles with louvred small lantern. N side of NW rear wing has larger block to left with first floor 12-pane sash each floor each side of an 8-pane stair light over door, the ground floor door and left within an added brick lean-to. Lower range to right has brick right end stack, throughway entry to left, and attached small structure built onto steps to loft door, 12-pane sash to first floor right. Single-storey range beyond has roof hipped at NW angle and brick stack.
SW wing has lower roof with bracketed eaves, small brick left end stack with outside chimney breast and 2 first floor 12-pane horned sashes to first floor. W end wall has 12-pane sash to ground floor left. Rear to courtyard has rendered ground floor and red brick above.

Interior

Central passage plan with 2 principal rooms to right, on E front, and stair at N end. Passage has elliptical hall arch, but cornices have gone. Panelled doors in pine appear to be all re-used from elsewhere. Stair has stick balusters, scrolled tread ends and pine handrail, scrolled at foot. Rooms to E have back-to-back fireplaces, that in SE room fine chimneypiece of c1830 from Hafod, white marble with paired yellow marble shafts to fine Corinthian columns (one capital missing), carrying entablature blocks well forward of centre entablature which has finely carved arms of the 4th Duke of Newcastle. Square-headed shelved tall recess each side in moulded frame. NE room has elliptical arched recess each side of reeded chimneypiece with corner roundels, earlier C19, altered in late C19 with heavy shelf. Plain SW room with earlier C20 fireplace, shutters to windows. Kitchen to NW has shutters to N window and 6-panel door to service passage W. Service stairs with stick balusters in NW wing. First floor bedrooms are plain, some with reeded chimneypieces. Attic has 2 rooms with 6-panel doors.

Reason for designation

Included as a good example of late Georgian smaller country house, with historical connections to Trawsgoed estate.