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    Insole Court, Llandaff, Cardiff

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    NPRN19075
    Map ReferenceST17NE
    Grid ReferenceST1504277719
    Unitary (Local) AuthorityCardiff
    Old CountyGlamorgan
    CommunityLlandaff
    Type Of SiteHOUSE
    PeriodPost Medieval
    Description

    1. Built first in 1855 by W.G. & E. Habershon for local industrialist J.H. Insole, it was extended in 1873 and again in 1875. Graded II* for the fine quality of the interior and as an outstanding Victorian ensemble within Cardiff. Source: Cadw list description 2003. 2004.02.27/RCAHMW/SLE

    2. Of rubble masonry construction with freestone dressings, slate roofs, and octagonal chimney stacks. The main front is notable for its tall gables and deeply crenellated tower. Of particular interest to the interior are the Smoking Room and the Chapel. The smoking room retains a pre-Raphaelite style canvas frieze, depicting the four seasons, and a High Victorian Gothic sideboard designed for the house. The chapel, on the first floor, features a pointed waggon roof, ribbed and panelled with gilding, pastel painted foliage, and lettered scrolls.
    (Source: Cadw listing description)
    J Hill 03.08.2004

    3. Owing to the decline of the Insole family in tandem with the post-WWI decline of coal, Cardiff corporation acquired Insole Count in 1932, although the last of the family did not leave the property until 1938. Various parts of the surrounding estate were repurposed for the Cardiff orbital road system while the ornamental gardens were supplanted by housing. The Count was an Air Raid Precautions headquarter in WWII and has since been utilised to provide a variety of public services including housing council offices and a public library. In 1988, the threat of sale prompted local community action to save the site. However, the Court fell into disrepair and closed in 2006, but was reopened in 2008 after further community action. An Insole Court Trust was founded in 2010 into whose management the Court passed. The Court was renovated and reopened in 2016. In 2018, the first floor, which had been closed to the public since the 1970s reopened as a permanent exhibition space.

    (Sources: Joshua Knapman, `Abandoned rooms at a Cardiff mansion are open to the public for the first time in four decades', Wales Online, 31.07.2018;Insole Court Website)
    A.N. Coward, RCAHMW, 07.11.2018

    Resources
    DownloadTypeSourceDescription
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionMeasured elevation drawings of the potting sheds at Insole Court, produced by Purcell LLP.
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionProposed first floor plan of Insole Court showing key to window and door photography, produced by Purcell LLP.
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording Collection.pdf showing external photographic survey of Insole Court undertaken by Purcell LLP.
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionMeasured drawing showing south and west elevations of the main house at Insole Court, produced by Purcell LLP, 2015.
    application/vnd.ms-excelERC - Emergency Recording Collection.xls spreadsheet containing descriptive and technical metadata relating to digital records of Insole Court, as supplied by Purcell LLP on disc 3 (Main House and Outbuildings).
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionSite plan of Insole Court showing key to photography, produced by Purcell LLP.
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionSite plan of Insole Court showing key to photography at the stable block, produced by Purcell LLP.
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionDetail plan and elevation drawings of the community hall at Insole Court, produced by Purcell LLP.
    application/vnd.ms-excelERC - Emergency Recording Collection.xls spreadsheet containing descriptive and technical metadata relating to digital records of Insole Court, as supplied by Purcell LLP on disc 1.
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionInsole Court photographic record of the outbuildings, produced by Purcell LLP.
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionGround floor plans of the stable and potting sheds at Insole Court, produced by Purcell LLP.
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionMeasured plans and section drawings of the potting shed tea rooms at Insole Court, produced by Purcell LLP.
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionInsole Court, partial photographic record - house window and doors produced by Purcell LLP.
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionMeasured drawing showing north and east elevations of the main house at Insole Court, produced by Purcell LLP, 2015.
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionGround floor plans of the stable and potting sheds at Insole Court, showing key to the photography of the cafe, produced by Purcell LLP.
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionProposed second floor plan of Insole Court showing key to window and door photography, produced by Purcell LLP.
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionInsole Court, photographic record - house window and doors produced by Purcell LLP, dated 27 November 2015.
    application/vnd.ms-excelERC - Emergency Recording Collection.xls spreadsheet containing descriptive and technical metadata relating to digital records of Insole Court, as supplied by Purcell LLP on disc 2 (Main House).
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionSite plan of Insole Court, showing key to photography of the cafe, produced by Purcell LLP.
    application/pdfERC - Emergency Recording CollectionMeasured ground and first floor plans of the Stable Block at Insole Court, produced by Purcell LLP.