82852

 

II  

Designated  

16/06/2004  

16/06/2004  

Manor House  

 

Pembrokeshire  

Wiston  

Haverfordwest  

Wiston  

202338  

218120  

 

On the N side of the road through Wiston and just E of Wiston Castle.  

Domestic  

 

Farmhouse, the surviving part of the Manor House of Wiston owned by twenty-one generations of the Wogan family from before 1324 to 1794. Sold in 1794 and eventually becoming part of the Cawdor estate. Fenton in 1811 called the house a large and awkward pile, in consequence of additions over many centuries. The main portion apparently had two sitting rooms and part of the present kitchen was the laundry. The wall between sitting-room and stairs was some 2'6"(762mm) thick. The mansion stood to the W of the present house. However the present farmhouse, N of the outbuilding, was clearly a building of some status with some good quality mid C18 woodwork surviving, externally altered in the C19 as a farmhouse. It bears a resemblance in outline to the house shown in the Buck engraving of 1741 behind a gatehouse, now gone. The house had eaves-breaking upper windows with pediments. The old mansion was called ruinous in 1715. The Tithe map of 1848 shows Wiston Mansion as a holding of 71 acres (31.17 hectares) owned by the Earl of Cawdor and occupied by John Griffiths.  

House, rubble stone with close-eaved slate roofs and C19 yellow brick stacks at left end and on ridge. Two storeys, long 4-window front with four upper windows and five below. Upper windows are evenly-spaced horned 12-pane sashes with brick heads and slate sills, presumably C19. Ground floor is more irregular, small 12-pane sash with timber lintel (replacing a door) and larger 12-pane sash with brick head in left bay, broad C20 glazed entry in second bay, and 12-pane sashes with brick heads in third and fourth bays, the one in third bay with indications that opening was wider and the next one with part of the brick head of a window immediately to right. N end has 12-pane sash to first floor right and door (former window) with 9-pane sash above in N end of rear outshut. Added C20 white-painted rendered range on N end, projecting forward of E front: two sash windows to front and double garage doors to rear. S end is white-painted and windowless apart from 9-pane sash with brick head in outshut first floor. Outshut is added, with straight joint and brick stack at S end. Single-storey rear W side is white-painted with two windows with brick heads to left of door, two C20 windows to right.  

Interior has principal room at S end, centre room shallower with stair hall behind and ? N end room. Stair hall is partly in rear outshut. Plain single flight along rear wall of centre former entrance hall with square balusters and rail ramped at top. Square newels. Outshut NW has slate floor and dairy slate slabs. Fielded 6-panel door. Lobby to S of stair hall with half-glazed door and overlight. In W wall is fine C18 fielded-panelled pair of doors with shaped curved head. Outshut SW room is kitchen with roll-moulded joists and wrought iron hooks. C18 cupboard to right of fireplace with fielded-panelled arch-headed double doors. Fielded panelled 6-panelled door. Thick wall to front range, fielded-panelled 6-panel door into S room which has 3 massive square-cut beams and deep brick fireplace (former kitchen fireplace) with elliptical arch. Iron door in right side, possibly a bread oven. C20 brick arched fireplace within main fireplace. Brick round arch to brick-lined smoke chamber to left. Blocked brick-arched opening to right of fireplace. The right window was a door, the left one has fielded-panelled shutters. Centre former entrance hall now incorporated into room to N. Six-panel door from stair hall of early C19 type. N end has fielded-panelled 6-panel doors on W wall and to right of N end fireplace. The W door opens into an understair space with remains of a pale stone floor with black diagonal squares at intersections, presumably from C18 stair hall. N fireplace has timber chimneypiece of late C18 type with festoons and oval rosettes above, and panelled piers with anthemion motif above intertwined husk ribbons. It was originally in a bedroom. To left of fireplace is a fine C18 shell cupboard with curved back, ribs radiating ribs in head from a small carved shell and four curved shelves. Below is semi-circular arch to curved-backed recess. N end room is plain with fireplace on S wall. Staircase has a fielded-panelled 2-panel door at top landing before turn through thick rear house wall. Corridor behind bedrooms with three fielded-panelled 6-panel doors and one door with sunk panels and one C19 4-panel door. Roof not accessible.  

Included as a substantial farmhouse, the remnant of the important manor house of Wiston, with surviving early to mid C18 interior features.