The Green, including attached former sawmill and farm buildings

Cadw's description

Location

Approximately 2.3km N of Newbridge-on-Wye, reached by farm road on the W side of the A470.

History

Doldowlod was purchased by the engineer James Watt of Soho, Birmingham, in 1803, and was developed as a country residence by his son James Watt junior (1769-1848). The Watt family gradually acquired a substantial country estate that continued to expand up to the time of James Watt Gibson-Watt (1831-91). The Green was created as a farm in the mid C19. The 1889 Ordnance Survey shows the house with attached L-shaped farm range and a barn opposite enclosing the farmyard. Subsequently the house was extended by creating a new front, the outbuildings were extended to enclose the yard on 3 sides, and the original farm range was converted to a sawmill. This later phase is shown on the 1905 Ordnance Survey.

Exterior

A L-shaped house, of which the rear wing constitutes the original house, and with sawmill and farm buildings attached to the rear in a U-shaped plan of W, N and E ranges around a central yard. The S-facing 2-storey, 3-window house is rubble-stone with blue-brick dressings, slate roof and brick stacks. The central entrance has a half-glazed panel door with overlight, under a slate lean-to canopy on wooden brackets. A small segmental 4-pane sash window is above it. To the R and L are 4-pane segmental-headed sash windows, of which the upper-storey windows are in a half-dormer to the R and a gable (effectively the gable end of the original house) to the L. The R gable end has a 2-light segmental-headed cross window to the R in the lower storey. The rear wing comprises the earlier 2-storey, 2-window house and retains its original front facing the yard to the E. It is of rubble stone with projecting, plastered eaves. It has a shallow gabled, open porch with round-headed, tooled stone entrance, and boarded door inside. Two-light casement windows have segmental heads in the lower storey and flatter cambered heads in the upper storey. The rear (W) of the wing has enlarged windows, a half-glazed back door to the L in a flat-roof porch, and C19 2-light window above.

The sawmill (W range) is lower, of rubble stone, and slate roof. Openings have blue-brick dressings that date to its conversion as a sawmill. It has a boarded door with overlight to the L, a large window beneath the eaves with vertical panes, then double boarded doors with overlight and a similar window to the R end. The N range is rubble stone, later extended on the R side with weatherboarded front. It has double boarded doors to the L, with weatherboarding above, an inserted 3-light blue-brick segmental-headed window, and a boarded door under a cambered stone head. In the later R-hand section are double boarded doors and a loft window. The barn forming the E side of the block is higher. It has late C19 replacement double doors with diagonal boarding, and overlight within a full-height opening. Ventilation strips are to the R and L and in both gables. The R (S) gable end has an open timber-framed lean-to. The rear is obscured by a late C20 shed. The N gable end has a lower rubble-stone projection sown on the 1889 OS, later widened on the W side and integral with a lean-to behind the N range. Its E wall has a pair of double full-height boarded doors. At the R end of the lean-to is a gabled projection with replacement double boarded doors, and a boarded door in its side wall. Further R the N range has a full-height vertical joint indicating 2 phases of construction, and a weatherboarded W gable end with boarded door and window, and loft opening. The rear of the saw mill has 2 windows similar to the front, 2 added lean-tos and a tall brick stack.

Interior

Not inspected.

Reason for designation

Listed for its special interest as a well-preserved farmstead and estate sawmill retaining definite C19 quality and character.