History

Gentry house of c1600 built for the Cradock family. Substantial two-room plan house with entry and stair in projecting gable. Three storeys, an unusual size. Mast stair, diagonal chimneys and basement cellar, like Allt-y-bella. The date of 1601 may be the date of building, there was a 1647 date on a farm-building now demolished, and a date of 1648 on an added lean to at the back is copied or moved from the cellar steps within. C19 service wing at NE. Thoroughly renovated in the late C20, it now has some 6 or 7 further extensions variously dated from 1984 to 1996. Original house also has new external render, new windows, and new roof cladding. The Fox and Raglan photograph shows the house before renovation, whitewashed.
George ap Richard Cradock made a will in 1634, his son John made a will in 1647, and was uncle to the notable Puritan divine the Rev. Walter Cradoc, born at Trefela 1606, active in London during the Civil War and a leading Cromwellian in Wales after 1653, adjudicating on the fitness of ministers of religion. He returned to Llangwm as vicar in 1655 and died in 1659. Later owners included John Proctor of Chepstow, banker, in C19, George Lawrence and Sir A.T. Lawrence, created Lord Trevethin, Lord Chief Justice 1920-1.

Exterior

Gentry house, C20 roughcast render with C20 concrete tiles to roofs. Rendered end stacks to original range, formerly stone, that to E with triple diagonal shafts, that to W small and rebuilt, also a double diagonal shaft chimney on ridge of porch gable. Three-storeys, L-plan, with projecting broad gable to left of S front, this dated 1601. All windows late C20. Projecting gable has C20 bargeboards and windows stepped to line of stairs, all with C20 hoodmoulds. Square 6-pane in apex, then 9-pane to right, small 6-pane left, 6-6-6-pane casement right, 4-4-pane casement left and finally ground floor small square 6-pane left and door right in original Tudor-arched stone surround. Old photograph shows openings in same positions and mostly same size but no gable window, hoodmould only to top left window and door blocked. Set back wing just has C20 6-pane and 6-6-6-pane casements to first floor left over C20 flat-roofed ground floor addition.
N garden front is 3-storey, 3-window regular range of C20 paired casements with hoodmoulds, ground floor centre and left obscured by added lean-to.
C20 additions include: a single storey 3-window range connects the projecting S gable to a narrow gable dated 1987, all with imitation stone mullion windows, the gable projecting from a 2-storey E end added wing. Another similar 2-storey added wing at W end, dated 1984, has gabled porch on S to left of original S gable. The N front of the house has a C20 lean-to dated 1648 and a 2-storey 2-window wing projecting to left said to date from 1881, but re-windowed as elsewhere. This has N end later C20 conservatory and E side paired gabled addition dated 1996.

Interior

Two-room plan with plastered brick wall between parlour and hall. Porch and stair in projection to S of hall, C20 addition S of parlour filling in angle with porch block. In the parlour a fireplace with stone jambs and massive oak lintel. Two doors with oak frames and Tudor-arched heads to left, one to stone winding stair to cellar, the other to oak winding stair to first floor. Four beams with chamfers and diagonal stops, one over fireplace, two in room, one over partition. In the hall, one beam with ogee stop to chamfer and fireplace with massive stone lintel. Opening on S into porch and C20 opening cut through from porch into SW stair tower. This has an oak doorcase with shaped head (similar to type O in Fox & Raglan 3 Fig. 21). Stair itself is of oak, unusually broad, winding around a massive tapering timber mast reaching up to second floor level. Mast is some 26' high and 20' diameter at the base. At first floor another shaped door head (similar to Allt-y-bella example Fox & Raglan Fig 6) and two more at second floor. Chamfered surrounds and ogee stops. Missing treads at top of mast indicate lost flight up to loft. Two shaped doorheads also at N end landing of winding stair from parlour, one doorhead raised in C20.

Reasons for Listing

Listed despite additions and alterations as an important early C17 house associated with the notable divine, Walter Cradoc.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29482189

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

• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)