History

Probably late C16, extensively reconstructed in the early C18 for Iohn Griffiths, (over a doorway on NE side is an inscription recording the rebuilding of the house in 1709 by Iohn Griffith); and again in the early C19. The Plas formed the centre of a small estate which included Hendre Howell as one of its properties. By the mid C19 the house was the residence of Mrs Elizabeth Lewis, Gentlewoman, who is recorded as living on independent means. The house was restored in the 1970s.

Exterior

Gentry house of predominantly Georgian character. The principal range of the house faces E with gabled bays to rear, that to the N forms a long service wing from which the stable range is set, and linked, at right angles. Built of rubble masonry, with some roughcast rendered elevations and gritstone dressings. Slate roofs with stone stacks.

The principal block of the house is 2-storeys with attics and cellars; a 5 window range symmetrically planned with central C19 porch of Penmon Limestone. Steeply pitched slate roof with hipped roofed dormers. Tall rectangular gable stacks with capping, that to the L (S) end rendered. The principal elevation is of coursed rubble masonry with large boulders as quoins. The central entrance is raised by a flight of stone steps with flanking plain railings with balls finials. The porch is formed by a single slate slab supported on simple tapering limestone columns on brick piers; the doorway has panelled doors and a radial-bar fan. Ground and first floor have hornless 12-pane sash windows; the attic dormers have modern casement windows.

The rear of the house was built as 3 gabled wings. The L (S) return extends back as a single window bay which has been lengthened by the addition of a further single window storeyed bay with a lower, hipped, roofline and canted in plan. Both are roughcast rendered, have windows as for the principal elevation, and end stacks; the gabled bay as for the main block, the extended bay has a rendered shouldered stack with capping. There is a single modern casement in the left hand side of the first floor to the rear of the gabled bay.

The central, staircase, wing has modern windows and there are french windows in a flat roofed extension which has been built between the flanking bays; the first floor has a fixed light of 12 panes and below there is a tripartite window which lights the stairwell.

The northernmost of the 3 gabled wings to the rear of the house has a broad squat stack where it joins the 3-bay storeyed service wing; a further ridge stack sits between the 1st and 2nd windows along the range. The N gable return of the main block has a single 1st floor 12-pane sash window, the original wing has a window to each floor, including an unequal sash window to the attic gable. Set between the two, steps lead down to the cellar doorway, which represents the only external remains of the original late C16 house and has a segmental stone head and chamfered jambs with broach stops. The service wing has hornless sash windows of 12 and 16 panes; the doorway is set between the 2nd and 3rd windows along the range and now has a modern timber porch. The S elevation faces the garden and has a doorway to the L (W) under a rectangular fan with glazing bars, the windows are as for the main block. At the far L end there is a semi-octagonal addition which sits at the SW corner of the service wing, behind it a linking single storey bay has been built to link the service wing to the outbuildings range. Both elevations have a modern casement set into a gable dormer; the N elevation has a doorway to the R, while to its L 9-paned fixed lights flank a large 16-pane hornless sash window. Both the service wing and linking bay have roughcast rendered elevations.

The former outbuildings range to which the house is now linked is of cruder construction; built of rubble masonry and only limewashed on its S elevation, which faces the garden of the house. A single storey range which has a hipped slate roof with a single ridge stack to its E end with dripstones and capping. The S elevation has a boarded door offset to the R (E) which has a small-paned fixed light to its R; to the far L (W) end is an unequal sash window of 15-panes with a fixed light of 9-panes to its immediate R. The N elevation has a boarded door to the W under a blocked window in a gable dormer. To its L the range is linked to the stable range by an archway under a gabled roof; a further doorway to the outbuildings range is set under the linking arch.

Interior

The only remains of the earlier house said, by RCAHM, to be the cellar beams and doorway (not inspected at the time of the survey). The principal range is of early C18 and retains a dog leg staircase with clasping rail on stick balusters and dado panelling. Some panelled doors remain as well as some simple cove moulding; the service wing has been internally modernised.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as an excellent example of a Georgian gentry house which retains all the character and fine detailing of the C18 remodelling, as well as some features of the original C16 house.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29484847

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

• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy