History

Pair of late Georgian houses, possibly built as one (internal links between the two) altered externally in later C19. No 4 is built over a basement that may be C17 at the end to the road, but is medieval further back. In the C20 No 4 was the Castlegate Hotel and No 5 the Ex-servicemen's Club, both derelict 2004 and in ownership of Pembrokeshire County Council. Fire-damaged c. 2002, most of the damage in No 4, where the staircase to the basement was inaccessible. Detail of the two late C19 canted bays is slightly different, old photographs show paired pilastered doorcases, removed and replaced by porch on No 5 after 1900.

Exterior

Pair of large terraced houses, painted stucco, with slate roofs brick dentilled eaves and brick left end stack. Three storeys and cellar, four bays, two to each house. Later C19 moulded sill courses and ground floor large canted bay window to each house with heavy moulded cornices. The bays are aligned centrally to each house and have basement window beneath. Paired central doorways, the left one in tall c1900 porch with matching moulded cornice and hipped metal roof. Right doorway, to No 4, is plain and square-headed. Large C19 4-pane sashes, those on No 5 slightly shorter with sills above string course, those on No 4 with plain raised shouldered surrounds. Five stone steps to doorway of No 4 with C20 door. Overlight has fine late Georgian fan tracery. Two cemented steps and grey stone top step to porch of No 5, C20 porch door with large glazed overlight. Basement steps to left of bay window of No 4. Iron railings in front of basement area of No 5.
Large double rear range, rendered with double hipped roof. No 4 is wider with C20 windows to N end, No 5 has C20 cross-window each floor.

Interior

Passage halls from front doors. Interior detail and stairs of No 5 mostly altered in later C20. No 4 has fielded-panelled 6-panel door in entrance hall and late C18 moulded cornice with anthemion ornament in frieze, rosettes in ceiling border. Moulded surround to door to E front room. Similar cornice and timber Adam-style late C18 chimneypiece on E wall: Ionic pilasters with delicate neo-classical ornament in pilaster panels. Deep frieze and dentil cornice broken forward over pilasters, with centre panel of griffins and urn, outer draped festoons and wreath. Ornament also in frieze blocks over pilasters. Sunk panels to reveals of bay window. Plaster ceiling rose with anthemion surround. Elliptical hall arch on pilasters, Damaged stairs to right to basement and main staircase beyond, with later C19 twisted balusters, similar to those in No 74 Main St., panelled newel with ogee finials, continuous rail, and open tread ends. Four flights to top floor. First floor has broad landing arch connecting through to No 5. First floor rooms altered and fire damaged.
No 5 has a simple two-flight stair, possibly a service stair. Big first floor rear room has scrolled ceiling border with square rosettes at corners.
Cellars not accessible at time of survey. Those to No 4 run back from street, with a passage down the W side. C17 or C18 front cellar, ceiled, with roughly chamfered beams and joists. C17 timber diamond-mullioned unglazed window on W side wall, paired 3-light openings, with close-set hexagonal mullions. A very thick wall at N to medieval cellars beyond, containing in the thickness the stairs from ground floor (opening into passage) and a skewed passage between cellars (reused piece of roof truss in lintel). The medieval cellars are in line, with broad cambered vaults. To left of entrance passage at S is deep vaulted recess. Four-centered doorway in W wall into passage. Second cellar has lower floor and lower vault but is of same width and has an inserted N wall, the short piece of cellar beyond accessed from passage. Some deep-splayed openings on E side, two at end of first section, one larger in second and a straight sided opening in NE corner. The W side has a splayed four-centred arched door in centre of first cellar. The doorway from passage to walled-off N end has square reveals and cambered head. To right of main W door are 3 corbels, supporting a chimneybreast on floor above. The passage down the W side of the cellar is vaulted only at the N end, corresponding to the N section of the medieval cellar. The floor level slopes N ward.

Reasons for Listing

Included as a substantial pair of later Georgian town houses in a prominent position, retaining a medieval vaulted cellar.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29485563

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

• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings