History

Talacre Abbey was built 1824-9 by Thomas Jones, architect, for Sir Edward Mostyn, on the site of an earlier house. Jones also designed a number of estate buildings, including the Home Farm, which is shown on the 1839 Tithe map. It comprised a coach house with offices and domestic lodgings in the wings.

Exterior

A substantial U-shaped 2-storey coach house block. The main elevations are of snecked dressed stone, the rear of rubble stone with tooled dressings and quoins, and a graded slate roof is behind coped gables. The front faces S and has a low cross wall attached to the outer wings enclosing a yard. The wall incorporates a central gateway which has polygonal piers with bell-shaped caps, and the flanking walls have moulded saddleback copings. The coach house occupies the central range and has 6 doorways, forming an arcade, with depressed round heads, all with double boarded doors, of which the central pair are within a projecting gable with a wooden cupola to the ridge. Reduced ridge stacks are to the R and L. In the upper storey are three 2-light mullioned windows with small-pane glazing and hood moulds.

The N (R-hand) wing has 2-light mullioned windows with hood moulds, all renewed in earlier openings. In the lower storey are 5 windows and a boarded door and overlight at the L end. In the upper storey are 3 windows, of which the window to the R retains original small-pane glazing in one of its lights. A brick ridge stack is at the L end. At the R end are 2 raked roof vents with pigeon holes. The S (L-hand) wing has more alteration. At the R end, in the angle with the central range, is a lintelled doorway to a ramped through passage. To its L are a 2-light mullioned window, a boarded door under a hood mould, a 2-light window with added lean-to on its L side, then a doorway inserted beneath the hood of an original window and an enlarged window to its L (constituting a dwelling formerly known as Garden House). In the upper storey is an added flat-roofed half dormer, and windows to centre and R without their original mullions.

The gable end of the S wing has an added conservatory lower R and a 2-light casement in the upper storey in an original opening with hood mould. The gable end of the N wing has a 3-light window in the lower storey with wooden mullions, small-pane glazing and a stone lintel. In the upper storey is a 2-light mullioned window with small-pane glazing and hood mould.

The N elevation of the N wing has mainly lintelled openings and has a stack rising from the eaves L of centre. At the L end is a blind window, to the R of which is a half-glazed panelled door with small-pane overlight, and then an added lean-to. Further R are 2 windows with replaced 2-light casements, between which is a doorway with boarded door. In the upper storey are windows beneath the eaves R and L of centre, both infilled with brick, and smaller outer windows, of which the L-hand is blind.

The ground falls away at the rear of the block and the rear of the central range incorporates a basement. Openings to the rear elevation are mainly under large stone lintels. A central projecting gabled bay has a depressed round arch to the basement. In the lower storey is a 2-light window with small-pane iron-frame glazing and a boarded loft door, above which are 3 stepped pigeon holes. The flanking 2-window elevations have shorter windows in the upper storey. Some retain 2-light iron-frame glazing, others are replaced. Doors and windows are missing from all the basement openings. The L-hand side has 2 outer doorways with 2 windows between. The R-hand side has a wide arched doorway similar to the central bay, and a window and lintelled doorway at the R end.

A similar basement doorway is in the S return wall of the central range, above which the range is 2-window, blind to the L side and with small-pane glazing lower R. The S wall of the S wing has a doorway to the ramped through passage at the L end. In the upper storey are 3 stepped windows to the L side, of which the outer windows are blind, above which is a round metal vent with conical cap. On the R side the wing incorporates the rear of the former Garden Cottage. This has an added brick stack rising from the eaves, to the R of which are blind lintelled windows in both storeys. A 4-pane sash is lower R, while to the L is a window with inserted 2-light casement and an upper storey window heightened to become a flat-roofed half dormer.

Interior

The basement comprises 2 groin-vaulted bays.

Reasons for Listing

Listed grade II* for its architectural interest as an especially fine and well-preserved C19 estate building, and as an integral component of the extensive outbuildings associated with Talacre Abbey.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q17743273

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

• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments