History

Begun in 1772 for Sir William Mansel, possibly by Anthony Keck, architect who worked for the family at Penrice and Margam, Glamorgan. Apparently unfinished on Mansel's death in 1804, it was bought as a 'shell' by General Sir Thomas Picton, who died at Waterloo. It remained in the Picton family until 1919, after which minor alterations were undertaken for a subsequent owner by Glendining Moxham, architect of Swansea. Its last use was as council flats in the years after 1945, but has been empty since 1957. The S wing was partly restored c1979.

Exterior

A large late Georgian country house looking W over Carmarthen Bay. It is a symmetrical composition of a 3-storey 5-bay main range with outer wings attached by screen walls, and service range at the rear, enclosing a central courtyard. Now mainly a roofless shell, its main elevations are brick, rear elevations of rubble stone with red-brick dressings.

The main range has a central added porch reached by curved steps on either side with iron railings. Windows have flat brick arches, and in the lower storey are within arched recesses with raised stone impost band. The middle storey has a thick stone sill band. A stone cornice is beneath a roughcast parapet. Side walls are 3-bay, the R side retaining the polygonal walls of a former conservatory. On the L side the screen wall has a wide opening under a flat brick arch. On the R side the screen wall has a narrower round-headed opening. The outer wings, of which the R-hand (S) has a hipped slate roof and small-pane windows inserted c1979, have a single-bay W front with window in an arched recess and raised stone impost band. The 7-bay side elevations have a stone plat band. The 3 central bays are brought forward and in the S wing retain a gabled roof. The rear service wing forms a 12-window elevation to the road. Its projecting central entrance is under a tall round arch with oculus above it. Doorways are also set back from the R and L ends.

Interior

The interior had, in 1958, at least 4 finely designed and moulded mantelpieces of later C18, decorative plasterwork and stair with square balusters beyond Venetian archway in hall, although the condition of the house was already poor.

Reasons for Listing

Listed, notwithstanding its present condition, as a substantial Georgian country house retaining its overall architectural form, of interest for the unusual use of brick in Carmarthenshire, and as the home of General Picton, who died at Waterloo.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Iscoed at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q19286286

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

• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)