History

Galltfaenan was established by the C16 as the seat of a junior branch of the important Salusbury family of Llewenny. This branch was founded prior to c1300 by Alexander de Salusbury, younger son of Sir Henry (Ddu) de Salusbury, though initially their seat appears to have been at nearby Dolbelidr; until purchased by the family in the early Tudor period, 'Alltfaenan' was in the possession of the Ravenscroft family (subsequently of Bretton, Flints). The direct line of the Salusburys of Galltfaenan ended with the death of Margaret Jones (nee Salusbury) in 1791; she bequeathed the estate to her cousin's son, Colonel John Lloyd, on the condition that he adopt the arms and name of Salusbury. He appears to have substantially remodelled the house following his marriage to Anna Maria Mostyn in 1810; to this period belongs the Regency S entrance front, which may represent a reorientation from an original E-W access. His daughter and heiress, Anna Maria Salusbury, married (Major) Townsend Mainwaring of Marchwiel Hall, who served as High Sheriff of Denbighshire, JP, and MP for the Denbigh Boroughs from 1857-68. In the 1860s the house was again remodelled, though the entrance front was retained; the work was carried out to designs by Lloyd Williams and Underwood and included a fine galleried stair hall.

In 1926 the house was sold to Sir Ernest Tate (of Tate and Lyle) and was further enlarged by the addition of a long pilastered wing by F C Saxon (of Lockwood, Abercrombie and Saxon); some contemporary interior work was carried out by Waring and Gillow of Lancaster.

Exterior

Large storeyd country house of irregular L-plan. Of limestone rubble and ashlar construction with hipped slate roofs and plain corniced chimneys. Giant 2-storey, 3-bay Regency entrance front (S), with twin-columned sandstone portico to advanced, single-storey central entrance bay; baseless Tuscan with moulded cornice. Tripartite part-glazed inner screen with central double doors; acanthus frieze to ceiling. Wide tripartite windows with gently-cambered heads, those to the ground-floor with plain 1860s sashes, those to the first with original arrangement of 12-pane central sash and narrow 8-pane flanking sections. 8-pane French doors to first-floor centre, opening onto balcony above portico; decorative Regency ironwork balustrade to flat lead roof. Sandstone parapet with raised and balustraded central section and moulded cornice band below. The entrance front's L (W) return faces the lawned garden and has a wide 2-storey canted bay with plain and small-pane sashes to ground and first-floors respectively, as before. The bay itself is of limestone ashlar, whilst the walls are of rubble. Recessed slightly to the L is the three-storey earlier main section. This has an arched C20 entrance of fine limestone with inner arch and moulded jambs; part-glazed door with segmental fan. Twelve-pane sashes to ground and first floors and 9-pane sashes with segmental heads to second floor; 16-pane casement to far R. Adjoining the garden side to the L and advanced in front of it, is an L-shaped single-storey addition (of the 1860s) with limestone balustrade to a flat, lead-roofed main section and a hipped slate roof to an extension to the N; 16-pane windows with cambered heads to a canted bay window. Adjoining this to the L (N) is a large segmental limestone arch giving access to the rear service court. The arch is of two periods, its square supporting piers and lower wall sections belonging to the C19 and the arch proper, together with the upper wall sections, being C20 work.

The right-hand (E) return of the entrance block has a square storeyed stair projection with balustraded flat roof. The eastern face of the main range has C19 cambered openings with plain sashes, full-length to ground-floor R (relating to dining room); modern fire escape to L. Three-storey rear, raised over basement and advanced in three sections from R to L; irregular window arrangement, mostly 8-, 9- and 12-pane sashes with cambered heads. The raised ground floor is accessed via three flights of parapetted steps leading to service entrances, one with arched head. Multi-pane 3-window group to kitchen projection at centre. To the R is a lead-roofed rectangular oriel window to the ground floor, with three 12-pane sashes; supported on piers with shaped stone corbels. Beneath this is a cellar entrance reusing a C17 pegged oak, ovolo-moulded doorcase, with boarded and studded oak door and iron strap-hinges; iron grille to centre and dentilated treatment to surround.

Adjoining the main block to the E and set back from the plane of the entrance range is the 1920s wing. This is of 7 bays, storeyed and of dressed, uncoursed limestone construction with ashlar dressings. The bays have segmentally-arched sash windows with plain projecting architraves and a sill-course to the first floor; plain Giant Order pilasters divide paired bays. Bay 3 is now a modern entrance with glazed door; bay 7 is advanced and has a flat, balustraded roof. A contemporary flagged terrace with raised swimming pool lies in front.

Interior

Entrance hall with simply-moulded frieze and fine, deep classical cornice, all Regency work. Alabaster bolection-moulded fireplace, c1927, with lugged surround in wood and moulded tripartite mantelpiece on scrolled brackets; carved and polychromed heraldic shield to central panel. Adamesque plaster ceiling rose; boarded oak floor. A Regency double colonnade separates the entrance hall from the stair hall and forms a passage from the drawing room (L) to the library (R); the columns and pilasters are Tuscan and are of greenish Mona marble. Regency doorcases with rosettes and panelled reveals to principal rooms; fine 6-panel mahogany doors. The drawing room has a classical swag frieze in shallow plasterwork relief with associated plaster cornice; plaster framing forming wall panels. Large canted bay to garden side with paired, fluted engaged columns to reveals and decorative ribbed plasterwork to coved ceiling. Regency architrave with rosettes and fluting to entrance at L; similar, false entrance balancing to R. Central fireplace of white marble with Etruscan capitals to panelled pilasters and similar ornament to centre; plain marble mantelpiece. The former library (R of entrance) has similar architrave and door and a classical cornice with dentilations, egg-and-dart and bayleaf ornament. Grey marble bolection-moulded fireplace with 3-panel oak overmantel, all 1920s; plate rail on paired corbel supports. Complex plaster ceiling rose to former dining room with fine relief scrollwork; fine modillion cornice with egg-and-dart, dentilated and acanthus ornament, decorative parquetry border to floor. White marble fireplace with good flanking foliate consoles, bosses and central motifs; moulded architraves and 6-panel doors with panelled reveals.

Beyond the colonnade is an impressive stairwell of the 1860s: an imperial-style stair arrangement leads to a mezzanine landing and to basement level services respectively; a further, quarter-turn winding stair leads from the mezzanine up to the galleried first floor. The staircase has triangular-profiled newels with surmounting Baroque-style brass lamp standards; mahogany rails and stairs with carved bosses to tread-ends. Fine Tijou-style cast-iron panels and balustrading to gallery and stairs. Heavily-classical Kent-style compartmented ceiling; deeply-recessed 6-panel doors off with panelled reveals and moulded architraves. The gallery is cantilevered-out and supported on scrolled iron brackets; central light-well above. The basement flights lead to service entrances with fluted semi-circular carved overdoors and 6-panelled mahogany doors. Stick baluster back stairs with mahogany rail, geometric newels and pendants; triple-arched half-gallery. Safe off butler's corridor with C19 Milner's 212 'Thief-resisting, fire-resisting, powderproof solid-lock door'.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as a fine early and mid C19 country house with good surviving interior detailing and earlier origins.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Galltfaenan Hall at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q29480881

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

• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)