2055

 

II*  

Designated  

07/05/1973  

08/08/2000  

Church Farmhouse  

 

Monmouthshire  

Caldicot  

Newport  

Caldicot  

348237  

188820  

W  

About 200m north of the Church of St Mary approached off Church Raod via Taff Road  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

 

A large late medieval L-shaped house of stone extensively refurbished in c1600. This building is traditionally an outstation of Llantony Secunda Priory at Gloucester and the surviving structure, though much altered and as a result rather confusing, offers much evidence to suggest that this tradition is based on fact. The surviving main building appears wholly medieval in basic structure and to be neither extended nor reduced from its original size, although quite a bit changed in appearance. There is a small C19 rear wing on the north side, forming a lean-to addition to the original rear wing. The main range is primary, with quoins on all four corners, and seems in origin to be a tower house with a first floor hall over a basement and perhaps with two storeys above that. This would date from the C15 perhaps 1450-75 and could have a domestic or religious origin. It does not appear to have been fortified, nor does it have walls any thicker than necessary to carry their height. This range is no longer to its full height and now has two storeys and attic over a basement, a further storey partially survives in the roof space (see Interior). This range was extensively refurbished in the late C16 or c1600 in an upgraded domestic role. It may have become the Rectory, as the name Church Farm might suggest, when monastic use ended in the 1530s. It has been suggested that this range was largely rebuilt above the first floor as there is a lack of quoins to the front wall and clear evidence that it was re-floored and re-windowed in about 1600. If the front range is indeed a mid-to-late C15 tower house, then the rear range is an addition made fairly soon afterwards, say 1480-1500, especially as it appears to have been designed as a block of monastic cells, with three floors, each of four cells, each with its own small window (see Interior) so for twelve monks in all, with the Prior perhaps living in the main range. This rear range remains almost unaltered apart from the basement, and is a considerable rarity, especially still in domestic use. If the building was indeed a religious house (the standard work on monasticism in South Wales has no mention of a house in Caldicot), as it appears, it would have been dissolved in 1536 as a minor house, or in 1539 if held to be a part of Llantony Priory in Gloucester. Reverting to the Crown it will have been sold for domestic use and was clearly converted to a more comfortable house with the addition of more fireplaces, larger windows etc. in c1600. Alternatively it may have become the Rectory of Caldicot. In the early C19 the main road (Church Road) between Caldicot and Caerwent ran directly in front of the building, between the house and the farmyard. The rear wing was added to fill the L between the ranges in the C19. The main tower was re-roofed in 1940 or 1947 and the render was removed from the walls in 1973. Apart from modernization and re-windowing within existing openings the house remains much the same today.  

Built of local limestone rubble in thin courses, with limestone dressings and Welsh slate roofs. The exterior walling is said to have had the render removed in 1973, the roofs were perhaps originally thatched. There are two separate wings both of four storeys but with the roof of the front wing apparently lowered, thus truncating the west wall attic windows after slate re-roofing in the 1940's. There are also differences in floor levels. L-shaped plan with a hall block facing east and a chamber wing facing south attached to the rear. Both these wings are single depth and the angle between them has been filled in by a two storey C19 building. The main east elevation of the hall block is of three storeys and garret, but the ground storey was originally a basement with a first floor hall above. The ground floor has three 3-light late C20 windows under timber lintels, these have enlarged the previous windows which were themselves insertions into what was probably a wall with no more than slit vents. The first floor has on the left the original entrance which would have been off an external stair. This has a 2-centred arch with a chamfered frame but it has been converted into a fixed lattice window in the late C20. To the right are two large C20 timber windows, 3-light with mullion-and-transom, each light having 6 over 2 panes. The relieving arches above show these to be ancient openings, but they are probably of c1600 and of domestic origin, rather than medieval. The second floor has two more windows as before placed directly above those below. Steeply pitched roof with coped gables and end gable stacks, both of which are rebuilt. The right hand gable shows a corbelled chimney for the hall floor and for the floor above. The left hand gable has an apparently ancient entrance to the basement on the right, a small window on the second floor and another in the gable, both with concrete lintels. To the left the wall extends to where it joins the secondary range. This 1m projection of the older wall may suggest a garderobe shaft. The rear elevation is partly hidden by the later two storey addition. There is a blocked window above and to the right the projection for the wheel stair. Behind this range is another three storey and basement range of almost equal size which was added to the front range as can be seen by the straight joint between them. This range remains to the full height with its original roof structure, but shows evidence of the current floor structure having been inserted after the walls were built as can be seen from the sunk squares in the wall which mark the position of the three main floor beams. The ground floor has a small medieval window on the left with dressed jambs and head but no cill. To the right of this are two large 2-light mullion-and-transom C20 windows with plain glazing. The two floors above both have three more small medieval windows, the one on the left, which is to the closet, being smaller than the ones to the chambers. Roof of lower pitch with smaller coping and with a large gable stack on the left, the upper part of which has been rebuilt in brick and considerably smaller in size. The rear wall is largely hidden by a later building, but four medieval windows are visible internally. The top floor windows are to the outside, but they cannot be seen from the ground. The west gable wall can only partially be seen but appears to be featureless. It has a lean-to privy attached to its base.  

The interior of this building is very difficult to interpretate and, as a result, its possible monastic origin remains speculative and its later history mysterious. The front range appears to have been considerably changed in c1600 with floors inserted apart from the first floor and a spiral staircase probably also of that date. Ground floor ceiling beams are cased; first floor ceiling beams with quarter-round mouldings and converging and lambs-tongue stops. There is a stair tower between the ground and first floor only, entered by a straight flight of stairs. C17 doors on the second floor, at the head of the stairs and in an original partition, this one has a shaped and moulded head. The basement has a large fireplace with a massive stone lintel, presumably the original kitchen hearth. The first floor fireplace on the left has clearly been added making a lobby inside to the original front door (now a window), the straight joint is quite plain and shows that the medieval hall fireplace was at the far (right hand) end of the room. Probably C17 doors between the two wings on the first and second floors. There are the remains of windows and fireplaces in the attic demonstrating that the building has been truncated. Kingpost roof structure said to be of the 1940's. The rear wing has on all floors above the basement a west gable fireplace flanked by recesses, lit by small rectangular loops. It seems likely that one of these recesses led to garderobes and the other to closets or strong rooms of a kind, there appear to be housings for door bolts on the left hand one. In the south and north walls there are late medieval windows with triangular recesses with small seats on the inside. These recesses are constructed with unusual cantilevered heads. The first floor north wall windows have slightly rounded heads and are chamfered on the outside. Each room has a fireplace with a massive lintel. First floor ceiling beams with deep chamfers and hollow stops. The top floor room has an open roof with triangular trusses which appear to be original. These three chambers seem best interpreted as being monastic dormitories, each originally divided into four cells by flimsy partitions so that each religious had their own space and window with seats, while the room was heated in common, with its own secure closet and garderobe. It is very remarkable that such an arrangement should have survived so completely. And yet it does not survive unchanged because the floor structure seems to date from the early C17 and the main floor beams seem to have been inserted (see Exterior).  

Listed and highly graded as an exceptionally rare and interesting monastic building from the late Middle Ages which has been partly changed in its later domestic life.