Plas Whitchurch

Cadw's description

Location

Reached by a drive S off the Crosswell to Blaenffos road some 1.5km E of Pontyglasier.

History

Large farmhouse, former gentry house, early to late C18. Owned by the Griffith family in C16, John Griffith died 1581. Nicholas Morgan was assessed for 3 hearths in 1670. F. Jones mentions a Richard Mathias of Whitchurch who married a Jane Bowen c.1740. James Bowen was owner and occupier in 1786, probably connected to the Bowens of Pantyderi. In 1839 occupied by 4 spinster Bowens, the last dying in 1856. Later occupied by Rev. Evan Thomas. Called a 'respectable mansion' by Fenton in 1811.

Exterior

House, rendered or whitewashed rubble stone with slate roofs and C19 yellow brick chimneys. Two storeys and loft. A long spine range, comprising the original house at S end facing W, with SE stair gable, and NW added gabled wing, and added N service range with outshut to W, facade to E.
W front has moulded stone eaves course, a quarter-round moulding over a step. Wall slopes out at base. Two-storey, four-window range of 12-pane sashes with C20 door in second bay and blank window to ground floor left. Square brick chimney on ridge to left of door and narrower brick S end stack. NW wing has splayed base to wall, one horned 12-pane sash each floor in rendered S return, windowless rubble stone W end gable with narrow yellow brick stack. S end gable of main range has no windows, as does E return to left of large projecting SE stair gable. Gable has overhung verges, two storeys and basement, two-window range, the windows to left smaller. Main house rear, to right of ridge chimney has two 9-pane sashes above, and two inserted ground floor 12-pane sashes with rendered heads and concrete sills, one central to two windows above, the other right of right window. Kitchen section to right has no obvious straight joint, sashes are set higher than those in range to left; two 9-pane sashes over 16-pane sash to left and shorter 6-pane sash to right of central plank door. Brick heads to ground floor openings, slate sills. N end gable has overhung verges, no windows, square brick stack. Outbuilding with asymmetrical slopes to roof attached to N end of rear outshut. Rear outshut has 3 windows and door, all replaced in mid C20, with timber lintels. Outshut S end abuts N wall of NW wing of main front.

Interior

Entrance hall backing on fireplace, fielded panelled doors. Rear stair gable has fine earlier to mid C18 staircase with closed string, heavy turned balusters, plain square newels and moulded thick rail. Fielded panelled door to understair. Fielded panelling infill under flights and to dado in parts. Half-way to first floor, 2-panel fielded panelled door on S to bathroom. Five flights in all. Room to S end has panelled dado and panelled doors with sunk panels of early C19 type. Cupboard on E wall. Room to N of entrance hall has infilled large fireplace and 2 covered beams. NW wing has partitions not solid wall to main range on each floor. Covered beam to each floor. First floor has some fielded panelling to partition along spine corridor, and some rearranged panelling where a former single room has been subdivided. This room, N of the chimney-breast, has three oak beams with scroll stops to chamfers, fourth over fireplace. Wide floor boards. Modern infill to deep fireplace. Some fielded-panelled doors to first floor. Stair gable has 2-bay roof with curved feet to oak truss, no collar. Loft has two oak trusses to NW gable, and over upper end five pine big tie-beam trusses, possibly late C18.
Service range: Kitchen is a long room with ten rough-hewn joist-beams, slate flags, and N end fireplace with remarkable surviving wooden crane. Coalbrookdale iron grate supplied by T M Daniels, Cardigan, c. 1910. Massive oak beam. Rear outshut formerly dairy, now modern kitchen. Boarded three-sided roof to first floor. Loft roof over kitchen end is partly replaced in C20 pine. Oak plank partition between service range and main house at foot of loft ladder stairs (i.e. no solid dividing wall).

Reason for designation

Included for its special interest as a substantial gentry house of earlier to mid C18 date, probably on earlier core.