Nanteos kennels/eyecatcher

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

The monument consists of the ruined remains of a classical eye-catcher, used as dog kennels, within the landscape park of Nanteos. It is built on a levelled platform on quite steeply sloping, north-facing ground on the south side of the Nant Paith valley. Its north façade was clearly intended to be seen from the house as an eye-catcher; it was ornamented with two blank Venetian windows, parts of which remain. The stonework is mortared and roughly coursed local stone, the walls built on a slightly projecting plinth about 0.6m high. Traces of render suggest that some, if not all, of the north front was rendered. Only the north front of the building remains above ground. It is about 14m in length, with its two corners standing to about 5m, though the central section has fallen, somewhat towards the north, and now forms a pile of debris about 1m high. The maximum depth of the building is about 5m but no stonework survives above ground on the south side and very little on the east and west sides. Some rubble is apparent beneath the turf. Behind the building to the south is a roughly level boggy area; above this the water from a spring has been directed into a stone-lined underground channel with a heavy, vertical iron grille across it. This drain appears to remain in operation but its destination is unclear. The features date to between 1764 and 1780 and were built by the Revd Dr William Powell as part of a major landscaping scheme.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of 18th and 19th century park design and settlement organisation. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structure itself may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.