History

On the site of a C12 castle bailey, with the motte to the NE. The house was built by Charles Harcourt Wood, who possibly designed it himself, in the period 1896-1911 as a replica of a English Borders manor house. The front step within the porch is dated 13th October 1896. The large fireplace in the dining room is said to have been brought from Emral Hall, Flintshire.

Originally an L-plan building in brick and stone with bowed ends like an early Victorian villa. Extended c1911 in black and white style to enclose the entrance courtyard and shortly after the original house was clad in black and white, the bowed ends were squared off and the central gable range on N side of the yard was built over the site of the Orangery. Bought by Lord Swansea in 1923 who refurbished the house; Caer Beris became a country house hotel in 1987.

Exterior

A country house in a freely interpreted Jacobean style, of 2 storeys composed of 3 wings set around a
courtyard in a U-shaped plan, with timber-framed walls and rendered panels, and tile roofs with tall brick
stacks. The windows have wooden mullions and most incorporate small-pane metal-framed casements, and
upper-storey windows are mostly carried above the eaves. The main elevations facing the courtyard have a
dentilled brick string course between storeys. The 3-bay central entrance wing faces the courtyard and the
approach driveway to the E. It has a central advanced gabled bay with 4-light oriel over the gabled porch
offset to the L side, which has a segmental head and double ribbed doors leading to a panelled door inside.
On the R side of the porch is a cross window. To the L of the central bay is a full-height 3-light bay
window. On the R side is a cross window below an oriel set in the angle with the N wing. The angle has
polygonal full-height bay window.

The S wing is of 5 bays. At the R end is a projecting gabled bay with 2-light windows in each storey.
Further L are 6-light lower storey windows flanking a projecting central gabled bay with 6-light windows
in both storeys. The L-hand bay is also a gabled projection, with a 2-light upper storey window, below
which is a lately added porch with small flanking casements, and inside which is a ribbed door.

The N wing is the service end. Facing the courtyard it has a central projecting gabled bay with 6-light
windows, L of which is a 2-light full-height bay window under gable, and to the R a 3-light window below
an oriel and gable. Rear walls are of brick with tile-hangings to gables under moulded eaves boards.

The S wing gable end has a V-shaped first-floor oriel flanked by 2-light casements. The wing is built on
steeply sloping ground and is carried on substantial timber posts of elm, creating a covered and cobbled but open basement. In the centre of the basement is a brick arch, which is carried up and is stepped to form an external stack. The S, or garden, front has a spectacular appearance set high above the garden. It is of 4 bays, of which the inner bays flanking the central external brick stack are wider and brought forward under hipped roofs. They have large panel glazing. The R outer bay has two small 2-light casements in the lower, while the L-hand bay has a cross window. Set back at the L end of the S wing is the S elevation of the central entrance wing, which overlooks a small terrace and is of 3 gabled bays. An out-of-character single-storey lean-to conservatory is added to the central and R-hand bays. To the L is a 5-light mullioned and transomed window in the lower storey, with similar 7-light window above, while the central bay has a 3-light mullioned and transomed window, the R-hand bay a 5-light oriel. The rear of the entrance wing has an integral veranda to the SW angle, then a full-height bay window of 5 lights in the lower storey and 7 lights above. Further L the dining room is set at a 45-degree angle, has a 6-light window facing the SW terrace, while the side wall has a full-height gabled bay window of 5 lights below 7. Further L are 2-light lower window and 5-light window above.

The E end wall of the N or service wing, has a lower single-storey brick projection with small-pane
casements and iron cresting. Beyond this is a window wrapped around the NE angle with Tuscan columns on a dwarf wall and dentil frieze. The rear of the N wing is of brick with tile-hung gables, and tile-hung upper storey to the easternmost bay.

Interior

A small entrance hall has a screen of fluted columns on high bases, beyond which is the stair hall. The
open-well stair has moulded square balusters and newels. The drawing room beyond has 2 fireplaces with
Ionic pilasters to the chimney pieces and is divided into 2 units by a central screen of square Ionic columns
on high panelled bases. A drawing room L of the entrance hall has a fireplace with a moulded segmental
head.

The dining room has a wide stone fireplace with Tudor arch (said to have been brought from Emral Hall) and the walls have Elizabethan wood panelling. Plastered spine beams are decorated with relief friezes including wyverns.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as a well-preserved late C19 country house of definite quality and character, retaining good original detail.

Set within Scheduled Ancient Monument BR093 (POW).

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29501488

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  The Shredded Chef: 120 Recipes for Building Muscle, Getting Lean, and Staying Healthy
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey