History

Former seat of the Dolbens, an important Denbighshire gentry family who, in the C17, provided a Bishop of Bangor and an Archbishop of York. High Sheriffs from Segrwyd served in 1632, 1749 and 1801. Lieutenant-colonel John Dolben, a cousin of the archbishop's, was an ardent and active Royalist during the civil wars, fighting in all the major regional actions, including the Seige of Denbigh and Booth's Rebellion in 1659; twice his estates at Segrwyd were sequestered; he died in 1662. In the second-quarter C18 the house passed by marriage to the Mostyn family. In 1795 John Mostyn, the nineteen-year-old squire of Segrwyd, eloped to Gretna Green with Cecilia, daughter of Mrs Piozzi (Dr Johnson's Mrs Thrale); they lived together here until his early death of tuberculosis in 1807. The present house represents an early C19 remodelling (perhaps by them) of an C18 house with probable earlier core.

Exterior

Medium-sized country house of 2 storeys and roughly square plan. Roughcast elevations to (probable) brick core, with slate roof and tiled ridge. Tall late C19 brick chimneys with simple cornicing and ceramic pots. The asymmetrical main (NW) facade is of 6 bays with a central single-storey C19 porch and wide outer gables. The latter occupy 2 bays each and are flush with the elevation; coved verges, the coving extended to deep eaves, with plain, narrow bargeboards. The porch has a wide, shallow roof with moulded wooden modillioned pediment having a delicate lozenge-pattern glazed panel within. Double doors with 4-pane, plain-glazed upper section and tall flanking 3-pane lights. Half-glazed inner door. To the L of the porch is an unhorned 16-pane early C19 sash window, with two 2-pane later C19 window in the gable beyond, having arched lights and coloured marginal glazing. To the R of the porch is a large early C20 9-pane mullioned and transomed wooden window extending down to the ground level. At the far R is a sash window as before, with 5 further, similar sashes to the upper floor, of which the three to the right have cambered heads; the second bay from the R has a 12-pane window, also unhorned, and the penultimate window to the R is a narrow 8-pane sash. Off-centre to the R is a 4-light C20 attic dormer with flat roof and plain casements.

The SE elevation has 4 French windows to the ground floor contained within a long glazed C20 verandah; the left-hand window has been enlarged. Small-pane sashes to the first floor; projecting eaves on moulded brackets. Similar sashes to the NE elevation, with off-centre entrance. Adjoining to the SW is a single-storey early C20 service wing with hipped slate roof and tiled ridge; tripartite multi-pane window to the front, with 8-pane vertical sash beyond.

Interior

The interior was not inspected at the time of survey.

Reasons for Listing

Listed for its special interest as a dignified late Georgian country house with earlier origins retaining good original external character, the former seat of the locally-important Dolben family.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29481484

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

• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)