History

Plas-yn-Dre, Bala, was the seat of a branch of the Lloyds of Rhiwaedog, one of Meirionethshire's principal gentry families; it was described by Edward Lhuyd (c.1690) as the largest house in the town. Plas-yn-Dre was the home of Simon Lloyd (1756-1836), Methodist Cleric, and from 1870-1886 housed the Bala Congregationalist College before its transferal to Bangor in 1886. Its present external appearence is largely the result of Edwardian alterations.

Exterior

Large, two-and-a-half storey former town house; of rendered local rubble construction with raised stucco quoins and window surrounds; tall, hipped slate roof with tiled ridge; chimneys removed. Symmetrical 3-bay facade, the central, entrance bay slightly advanced; tripartite entrance group with central doorway flanked and surmounted by small-pane windows; 6-panel door. Projecting in front of this is a large, canted open porch, with bracketed wooden supports carrying a balcony with flat, shaped balusters and plain rail. The first-floor of the central bay has a cross-window with small-pane upper lights and plain lower lights; similar window to the second floor above, placed under the eaves. The outer bays have 2-storey canted bay windows with moulded cornices and 3-light transmullioned wooden windows, as before. The upper floor has hipped, gabled dormers arising out of the canted, storeyed bays; cross-windows within, breaking the eaves.

Two-storey central projection to the rear, with hipped roof; 4-pane and 2-pane plain sashes. Modern single-storey additions flank this projection on both sides; 6-pane C19 sashes to the upper floors of the primary block, those to the first floor with segmental heads. The NE elevation (R side) has external railed steps leading to a first-floor porch with smallpane glazing and hiped roof. Low slatestone forecourt walls to the front and L return, with surmounting spear-headed railings.

Interior

Entrance hall with polychromed tiled floor. At the end is stairwell, with a Regency well stair, having stick balusters and (painted) rail with scrolled end. The entrance hall has doorways to L and R with wide, moulded Regency architraves; panelled reveals and 6-panel doors. The left-hand room has a small exposed fireplace with rough stone voussoirs to a segmental arch; to the L of this is a window with panelled shutters and window seat; architrave as before. To the R of the fireplace is a late Georgian segmentally-arched niche with fluted pilasters and archivolt. The remainder has been modernised.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as a town-house with C17 origins, of special significance in the town for its part in the history of Methodism and Congregationalism in Bala; the home of Simon Lloyd (1756-1836), Methodist Cleric.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Plas-yn-Dre official website
• Wikidata Q29502896

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

• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)