Full Report for Listed Buildings
The list description is not intended to be a complete inventory of what is listed: it is principally intended to aid identification. By law, the definition of a listed building includes the entire building (i) and any structure or object that is fixed to the said building and ancillary to it and (ii) any other structure or object that forms part of the land and has done so since before 1 July 1948, and was within the curtilage of the building, and ancillary to it, on the date on which said building was first included in the list, or on 1 January 1969, whichever was later.
Date of Designation
28/07/1992
Date of Amendment
28/07/1992
Name of Property
The Round House
Unitary Authority
Pembrokeshire
Community
St. David's and the Cathedral Close
Location
Approached uphill from Quickwell Hill by drive passing between Nos 10-12 and the former Board School.
History
Circa 1965 by James Gowan of the Stirling and Gowan architectural partnership. Built for E W Parke, Professor of Engineering at Leicester University for whom Stirling and Gowan designed the internationally-famous Engineering Building at the University in 1959. Plans for the Round House were submitted 1964, refused, and allowed on appeal 1965.
Exterior
Holiday house of circular plan in white-painted rendered brick with flat parapetted roof. Two storeys, circular plan, with triple metal casements, five to each floor, and in sixth position an attached circular entrance and stair tower rising above parapet for roof access. Sunk bands at sill and window head levels. Metal-framed glazed door at foot of stair tower.
Interior
Open plan ground floor interior with central pillar and one quadrant curved concrete divider (not extending as far as ceiling) with kitchen shelving on convex side, bookshelves on concave side.
Reason for designation
One of the very few frankly modern houses in west Wales and important in the later development of the International Modern style in Britain. In the appeal submission the flat roof was said to have the additional purpose of facilitating the testing of structural materials against salt air for Professor Parke's researches.
Cadw : Full Report for Listed Buildings [ Records 1 of 1 ]