History

This building was listed as a 'medieval stone house, well restored' and is advertised as the 'Oldest Inn in Wales'; but a close inspection of the house suggest that both these claims are unlikely. The present building appears wholly mid to late C17 with major alterations in the late C19 and minor ones in the late C20. Bradney's 'History of Monmouthshire' has a photograph showing the inn as now in 1906, and the alterations to the front elevation must have been done fairly soon before that. The yellow brick of the chimneys might date fron the 1880's and the re-vamping of the inn may be part of the 'Old English Revival' of that period.

Exterior

Thinly coursed red sandstone rubble with dressed relieving arches over the windows, hipped Welsh slate roof. Two storeys and attics large rectangular block with two large lateral stacks on rear now encompassed by lean-to additions at either side of the projecting three storey stair tower. The main elevation has been extensively altered in the Victorian period to give it a type of C17 appearance which it does not ever appear to have had. The four and eight light wood mullion and transom windows are reproduction, the four light windows on the ground floor have king mullions, each light has six panes over eight. The ground floor originallly had three windows on either side of the central door as the relieving arches show. These would presumably have all been cross framed casements as are still on either side of the door, and these would have made a symmetrical elevation. The door is a repaired C17 one with studded panels and iron strap hinges, the bottom planks have been replaced; above are six pane fixed windows with a central mullion, the door frame is partly ancient. To the left of this central feature is a four light mullion and transom window but it is closer to the centre than the one on the right, Continuous drip mould over the ground floor features, which presumably goes with the Victorian alterations. The first floor also had cross framed casements but the disturbance of the wall is less evident, the reveals of one window can be seen in the main bedroom. This room has an eight light mullion-and-transom window with king mullion, and there is a second one on the left of the facade. Deep eaves hiding the window heads. The steeply hipped roof has two small sloping topped dormers which are also Victorian. The gable ends are plain, that on the left is partly hidden by the projecting barn, that on the right has a C20 single storey kitchen extension with a Welsh slate roof.
The rear elevation has a cat slide roof coming over the added rooms, these have C20 cross framed casements. The stair tower has a cross framed small pane casement on the half landing and a smaller modern one at the attic landing. Gabled roof to the stair wing. The main roof has two large and tall stacks with weathered tops in yellow Victorian brick, these would originally have been on the external wall. Gabled dormer in the same plane as the wall to the right of the stair.
To the left of the main building is an attached range which is shared with the adjoining garage. The Inn half has a large cart entry through under a plain roof, small window to right.

Interior

The C17 character of the interior is probably a late C19 interpretation of public houses of the period. The main building is only four rooms, two bars and two main bedrooms above. The main bar has bare stone walls and a large open fireplace. The possibly original feature is the ceiling which has one large cross beam supporting two lateral beams; these have roll mouldings and bar-and-scroll stops. The joists have these stops but are unchamfered. Similar ceiling in the other bar, which is a panelled parlour. Stone flag floors. The rear lean-to on the left is the Dining Room. This has a ceiling with roughly chamfered beams with bar and lambs tongue stops. There is a cellar with re-used ceiling beams, one with mortices, below this room. Fine C17 staircase in oak. This rises to the attics and has pierced splat balusters, carved corner posts, newel posts and pendants. All the stair beams are stopped and chamfered which is an unusual feature. Two main first floor rooms which have been altered in the late C19, and again recently when given en-suite bathrooms etc. There are no visible C17 features. The attics are unceiled and show a roof with principal rafters of impressive size, including one re-used upper cruck blade, ties, two tiers of trenched purlins. The secondary rafters and the roof covering are late C19.
The roof of the adjoining range is principal rafter with two tiers of trenched purlins and a ridge piece.

Reasons for Listing

Included as a fine C17 purpose built inn with interesting late C19 alterations.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• The Skirrid Mountain Inn at Wikipedia
• The Skirrid Mountain Inn official website
• Wikidata Q7764647

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

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  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
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  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
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  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)