2888

 

II  

Designated  

30/06/1993  

09/12/2005  

Llanfair Grange (also known as Plas Llanfair)  

 

Monmouthshire  

Gobion Fawr  

Abergavenny  

Llanfair Kilgeddin  

333266  

207211  

 

Set in its own grounds and reached from a by-road between A4042 and B4598; close to the railway line, 1km north of Nant-y-Derry and 1.5km west of Llanfair Kilgeddin. The house is built on a levelled site with adjacent farm buildings.  

Domestic  

 

A small country house said to be an early C19 remodelling of an earlier house; this work included the addition of the large front block and only the main elevation of this block was seen at resurvey. This block was added for John Shaw before 1830. In the C19 Llanfair Grange was known as Upper Pant-y-Goitre and in 1892 it was sold to a member of the Crawshay family. The porch was added and the front partly remodelled in the early C20, probably c1920.  

The main block has smooth rendered elevations, probably over stone, with natural slate roofs. The main block and adjoining ranges to south and west form a service courtyard which is splayed inwards at east end. The main block of the house to the north is in the late-Georgian classical style; single depth central entrance plan to added block with older house behind. Three storeys with symmetrical 5-bay scribed stuccoed front, channel-rusticated to ground floor and with projecting pedimented bay to centre. Other stucco detail includes cornice and blocking course, band courses over ground floor and a plinth that is advanced beneath each window. The added broad central porch now has a square-headed entrance with moulded architrave and Doric columns in antis; old photographs show a broad round-headed opening to front with keystone. Round-headed side windows are retained with multi-pane glazing as is the similarly arched inner doorway with half-glazed doors and flanking windows lighting the entrance hall. Six over 6 pane sash windows to all floors, taller to ground floor; over the porch is an early C20 4-light, transomed, casement window with pilastered architrave. The parapet hides the very low-pitched hipped roof which can only be seen from distance. At both ends of the front the corners are set back and the façade is returned for one bay on either side, including tripartite ground floor windows with pilastered architrave. Behind this front block the house is mainly two storeys (not seen at resurvey). The 3 + 1-window east side is similarly stuccoed and has twinned, arched, chimney stacks; mostly later cross-frame windows with cornices and architraves. The three window part has a central simple classical style, round-arched, doorcase and the one window part, advanced to the left, has quoins and retains a 6 over 6 pane sash window with blind box to ground floor. This latter bay forms the end of the hipped roof, four window, cement rendered, south range which has similar glazing, French windows and a cut-down lateral chimney. Stepped forward to west and at a skewed angle is a two window, hipped roof, courtyard range. To south-west of this and linked by outside steps are the stables and coach-house with dog-legged roof to outer side and colour-washed rubble frontage to courtyard. This side has sash and casement windows over cambered-arched openings including boarded carriage doors, the central opening has been altered into a doorway with flanking window. The courtyard elevations and rear of the house are mostly pebbledashed with small-pane sash windows.  

Not available at resurvey and the description is taken from the (1993) listing: Entrance is onto a hall with segmental archway and open-well staircase with shaped tread ends, turned balusters, panelled soffit and newel finial. Cornices, 6-panel doors and shutters. Room to left has arched recess and Adam style fireplace, while the dining-room to the right has a marbled, rococo style, chimneypiece. The other rooms were not accessible at time of inspection (June 1993).  

Listed for its special interest as a small late Georgian country house, which, despite some alteration, has retained character and detail.