NO.36 Main Street, Dyfed, Pembroke, Pembrokeshire

History

Earlier C18 house of two storeys and attic retaining original panelled room to W and original staircase. Altered in later C19 with new windows, shopfront to right and small canted bay. For most of C20 premises of Tracy, watchmakers and jewellers, W. H. Tracy listed in 1926. Under restoration 2004 by Richard Naylor, owner. The house appears to be of a single C18 build, front range and rear wing, but the double cellar under the front and the ground floor room of the rear wing which has access from the cellars only may indicate that it is built on an earlier basement.
The detail with fielded panelled walls and doors looks earlier C18, and the stair with thick handrail and pulvinated frieze also, but it is possible that the stair has been moved or rearranged. Later C19 alterations included the replacement of windows, and the shop window, but enough survives of earlier C18 sashes with thick glazing bars (re-used within the house) to show original glazing, and one sash may survive plastered over on front wall. The 1857 Orielton estate sale catalogue lot 7 includes a dwelling house and watchmaker's shop occupied by James Tracey, with sitting-room, kitchen, pantry, three bedrooms, and three attics, which may be this house.

Exterior

House, two storeys, basement and attic with painted stuccoed front and steep slate roof. Rendered chimney to left end, raised in brick, and chimney missing to right. Four bay front has from left hand on ground floor a sash window, a C19 canted bay window with slate roof, a 6-panel door with rectangular overlight, and, to right, a late C19 to early C20 shop front with common fascia and cornice over recessed half-glazed panelled door with rectangular overlight and slightly projecting three-sided shop window with left side canted, right side straight. On first floor three sash windows aligned to left, one to right, only the left-most one aligned with window below. Four-pane horned sashes except second window which is possibly early C18 plastered over. Three gabled C19 dormers with 4-pane sashes and bargeboards. Rear left wall is windowless and rough rendered with back door in C19 lean-to, with toilet to left of porch.
NW rear wing has lower ground floor due to slope. Rubble stone, gabled roof collapsed in later C20, being replaced 2004. Two windows to first floor E and one door below. Two windows to first floor N, one each side of chimneybreast.

Interior

Entrance passage to rear door, principal room former shop to right, hall to left with short front room partitioned to S and stair opening through back wall into rear wing to N. Narrow W end room with stairs to cellar in corner. Four cased square section beams.
E room, former shop, retains earlier to mid C18 fielded panelling on W and N walls, long panels with dado rail, moulded skirting and timber cornice. W partition wall has five panels and doorway with short panel over in fourth section; two-panel fielded-panelled door in raised architrave. N wall has four similar panels. E wall has centre fireplace with damaged surround of moulded slate with pilasters and curved angles to top piece. Timber surround with plain piers, moulded cornice the lower moulding broken forward over piers and in centre. Thin shelf. Above is shouldered overmantel panel, the centre panel covered in C20 plyboard. Similar cornice broken forward over chimneybreast, similar skirting each side under wall cupboards, mostly C19 but incorporating at lowest level pair of low fielded-panelled doors. Above are two rows of 2 drawers and then doubled C19 glazed doors to shelved recess. S entrance wall has C19 shopwindow with 3 glass doors on back, and door to right, with a C19 small painted grained screen canted in at angle left of door. Thick pine floor boards.
Hall has plastered partition wall and two doors to left, one small part-glazed C19 door into centre room and larger doorway into rear hall. C19 red and black floor tiles. N end exterior plank door with wrought-iron hinges.
Rear hall has left half of partition to front centre room, similar fielded panel over dado with moulded cornice. Missing doorway and right half, but cornice survives. Two-panel fielded panelled door in W wall. Opening in rear N wall with staircase to first floor of rear wing.
Front centre room has plain plastered arch over C19 bay window to right and C19 wall-cupboard to left. Thin partition to W room which has slate flagged floor, C19 small fireplace with C20 small range, and partition has blocked recess probably a plate rack to right of door with curved upper angles. Three-sided partion in NE corner to cellar stairs with 2-panel fielded panelled door on W and small 6-pane fixed window in canted SW angle, C18 with thick glazing bars. Small boarded ventilation door over cellar door.
Nine stone steps down to cellar. Two rooms separated by a very thick wall pierced by opening with cambered brick head. E cellar has oak beam, probably reused and two part blocked basement lights in N wall, one with piece of C18 sash window in blocking. Cellar under centre room has joisted ceiling and access into ground floor of rear wing, lower than front range due to falling ground.
Rear wing ground floor has big N wall fireplace with altered lintel, a brick one inserted probably lower than original one. Left pier projects and is flat topped. Full-height recess to left of fireplace with slightly rounded pier projecting from side wall, perhaps an altered copper recess. On right side a C19 brick bowl, for former copper, with fireplace beneath, a later insertion as there is remnant of former bread oven in corner behind. Right side of fireplace has broken line of stone suggesting that wall with bread oven was cut away. Chute to exterior in E side wall, perhaps for ashes, exterior doorway to right. Floor with pine beams inserted 2004. This floor has no access to ground floor of main house.
From rear hall short earlier to mid C18 stair up to first floor of rear wing. Seven pine steps, balustrade to left, moulded rail, square panelled newels and turned column-type balusters. A second similar short flight returns through opening in back wall to first floor of front. This has similar balustrade with pulvinated closed string (balustrade on one side only). The stair opening has signs of having been wider to left above a sill.
Rear wing first floor has cemented small fireplace at N end and marks of lost roof trusses (three collar trusses, to be replaced in pine). Gable line visible on rear of main range and small patch of slate-hanging to right. Blocked door at left of W wall, into rear wing of No 34.
First floor front has three rooms with 2-panel fielded panelled doors and staircase up back wall. Another 2-panel door to under-stair. Later C18 simple wood chimneypiece with panelled piers, dentilled cornice and later iron grate, flanking cupboards with sunk panels to painted grained doors in E room. W room has narrow fireplace with later C19 grate cut into later C18 or early C19 wood surround. Window in front wall plastered over. Staircase has long flight with similar detail to two lower flights, short return at E end to attic landing with C19 thin balusters. Attic has earlier C20 sawn pine roof trusses.

Reasons for Listing

Included as a substantially complete town house of the earlier C18, possibly on earlier cellars, retaining original panelling, doors and stairs.

External Links

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