Avalon House, Pant-y-goitre

Cadw's description

Location

About 100m west of Pant-y-Goitre crossroads on the road to Nant-y-derry and standing above the River Usk on the south bank. Kilgeddin is the upper floor of the main house.

History

This house has twice had very major changes while a single dwelling and has then been divided into three as at present (Pant-y-Goitre House, Avalon and Velindre). It is said to have been first built in 1726, when it was a red brick house with its main block facing north towards the river, with the Drawing Room facing west and a two-storey service wing stretching towards the road on the south. It could have been a Francis Smith of Warwick type house with a main three storey block (Francis Smith was engaged on Davenport House in Shropshire in 1726) or it could have been two storeys and attics with a hipped roof and central pediment. This house has its entrance in the centre of the current north front with a room on the north-east corner, the entrance hall in the centre and the stair compartment in the north-west corner. The stair position is indicated by the two blind windows on the north end of the garden elevation where the 1726 stair ran across the wall in the Francis Smith manner.
The house underwent a major re-modelling at some time after 1776 and before 1832, which may have been a single campaign or two. The original house was possibly heightened to three storeys, with the entrance moved from the north to the east fronts, while the colonnades and other stone decorations were added. and the brickwork stuccoed. Alternatively John Newman says that the three storey block is an addition to an existing housewhich lay to the south (Velindre, q.v.) which was later given the neo-classical stone trim and the changes in the planning, but the position of the staircase seems to make this less likely. Only an inspection of the attics and the walls behind the render could really give the true story.
The orangery is said to have been added in 1890 and at this time the interior was remodelled to allow this. The principal changes were the removal of the staircase from its compartment and the formation of the north ground floor into a single Drawing Room.
In the later C20 the house was divided into three dwellings as it now remains, but the exterior has been only changed in small details such as the upper floor windows.

Exterior

Avalon is the second floor of the main block. Its windows are 3 x 3 pane casements, a C20 alteration.

Interior

Interior not available at resurvey.

Reason for designation

Included for its special interest as a fine C18 country house with good later additions, including a fine conservatory.