History

Built 1929-30 as a convalescent home for tuberculosis sufferers. The patron was David Davies, the first Baron Davies, the most prominent campaigner in the anti-tuberculosis movement in Wales in the early C20. Originally the home had dining hall, kitchen and classroom in the lower storey, a dormitory upstairs, and a pantry and intensive-care unit in a rear wing. In 1962 the building was given by Miss Margaret Davies of Gregynog for education purposes to schools in Montgomeryshire, Denbighshire and Merionethshire.

Exterior

A late Arts-and-Crafts style former convalescent home of 2½ storeys, of pebble-dashed walls, graded slate roofs on projecting eaves and hipped to the R end, and brick stacks. Windows are mostly horned sashes. The building consists of a long range built across the slope with the entrance towards the L end between lower wings splayed at 45-degree angles, recalling the butterfly plans of early C20 Arts-and-Crafts buildings, forming a symmetrical composition to the entrance. The gabled entrance bay has the doorway on the R side, recessed inside a round-headed arch with brick voussoirs, and has replacement double doors. To its L is an 18-pane window, and in the upper storey is a similar window to the L and tripartite window to the R. The attic has a 4-light small-pane casement window. The wings have 8-pane windows in each storey and two 8-pane windows in the gable ends flanking shallow external stacks. Further R the main range has 3 French doors with small-pane glazing and overlights, and in the upper storey 12-pane sashes under small-pane fixed lights. The 2-window R end wall has wide round-headed small-pane windows in the lower storey, a 12-pane window upper L and upper R an inserted escape door and stairs. The rear has large inserted windows of the 1960s and original horned sashes. A gabled projection is to the R of centre, to the R of which are superimposed stair windows. Further R is a parallel rear wing, housing the original intensive care unit, with similar detail to the main range, and with a hipped lean-to housing the original pantry on the opposite, front, side. The 3-window L gable end of the main range has 12-pane and 8-pane windows, and a replacement attic window.

Interior

The entrance foyer has an open-well stair with plain balusters and newels and scrolled tread ends. The interior is otherwise altered. Originally the kitchen was at the L end, next to which was the dining room and the classroom at the R end.

Reasons for Listing

Listed for its social-historical interest as a rare well-preserved early C20 convalescent home, in this instance patronised by a prominent philanthropist and anti-tuberculosis campaigner, with additional special architectural interest as an Arts-and-Crafts building retaining definite original character.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29506428

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.

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