History

By John Douglas, architect of Chester, and dated 1886. Deeds suggest that the plot was sold by the Cornwallis-West family of Ruthin Castle to John Douglas. It is possible that he lived in the house himself. Originally known as Elm Villa, the house later became Coetmor, the family name of subsequent owners. Coetmor and a neighbouring house by Douglas were originally a pair of isolated houses set in large grounds, but in a convenient location, adjacent to the railway.

Exterior

Asymmetrical 2-storey 2-window house in the Domestic Revival style characteristic of John Douglas. The house faces west to the garden, and has entrance front to north with lower 2-storey gabled porch against gable end. Constructed of red brick to lower storey and pebble-dash to upper storey, the latter of unusually large fragments of grey stone set in mortar. Red tiled roof; fluted red brick stacks to centre of front roof pitch and on ridge to rear wing; limestone plinth; plain barge boards. The upper storey is slightly jettied on a moulded or dentilled brick string course and has brick quoins. Windows have moulded brick surrounds and ovolo-moulded mullions, mainly 2- or 3-light with ogee heads. These contain iron casements with horizontal glazing bars, some with stained glass and leaded glazing. Entrance front in north gable has porch bay set back to L with doorway facing W. Ribbed wooden door with strap hinges in bullnose brick surround with segmental head under a hoodmould. Porch north elevation has 3-light mullioned window to ground floor with stained glass, cellar light below, and 2-light window above. Main gable end of house has 3-light mullioned window to first floor, and very small 2-light casement in gable apex. West front has a large canted bay window to L with domed roof, the central section forming a catslide from the main roof pitch; it contains a transomed 4-light window with stained glass to upper lights. To R, a 3-light transomed window. Aligned above to upper storey, a gabled half-dormer with 3-light window with flat moulded head under a raised triangular pediment containing decorative plasterwork; this bears a diamond tablet with the date '1886' and rosettes in relief. Small skylight to roof pitch.
Rear of house has single light to ground floor, and very small raked attic dormer. Rear wing to L, with 3-light window to ground floor of N side; its E gable end has a 3-light window above a hipped-roofed lean-to. Catslide lean-to against far L of main range. South gable end of house has 2-light window to attic, and single lights offset to R below, 2 to 1st floor and 1 to ground floor. Side of catslide lean-to has 2-light window.

Interior

Inside entrance, full-length stair-hall with reception rooms to R and service rooms to L. Dog-leg staircase on L side of stair-hall, of pine but probably painted originally, with turned balusters, moulded handrail and newels with shaped finials; panelling beneath. Fine encaustic tile floor to stair-hall. The dining room has a window with 4 stained glass panels, bearing figures, possibly relating to folk tales. Other stained glass including pink margin glazing and roundels. Interior detail includes distinctive panelled doors, and some panelled ceilings. Some Douglas fireplaces are preserved, the wood panelled chimney pieces with distinctive mouldings and bracketed mantelpieces; 2 of these have painted decoration to the upper panelling, bearing flowers, birds and figures; decorative cast iron fire grates flanked by tile inserts. The landing has a ceiling which appears to have been inserted later, which contains 2 lights. Above this inserted ceiling is some wall paper in the style of Morris & Co. Off the W side of the landing, a short steep staircase with diagonal treads leads to an attic room.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as a fine example of the work of John Douglas, with particularly good internal and external detail in the Domestic revival style.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Coetmor at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q5140838

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

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  The Shredded Chef: 120 Recipes for Building Muscle, Getting Lean, and Staying Healthy
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  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
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  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
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  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets