The present house is the result of a re-modelling of 1825 by Charles James Mathews, a little known pupil of A C Pugin and for a time worked in John Nash's London office. It is Mathews only known work. There was an earlier house on the site and a date-stone of 1702 is incorporated in the main NW elevation of the Hall. The estate was owned by the Lloyd family in the 18th century and it is probable there was an early C18 structure which was modified in the late C18. By the turn of the C19 the house was the property of Colonel Wardell and at some time in the early C19 the house became half ruined. A sale catalogue of 1819 describes Hartsheath as newly built and parts of the style are reminiscent of Thomas Harrison's design for the Shire Hall at Chester. Mathews was employed by the Welsh Iron and Coal Mining Company to survey the building and to enlarge and adapt the structure to form a residence for the company's Director. Mathews probably adapted some of the previous structure into a service wing and built new polite/reception rooms. £5,000 was spent on the building works and largely as a result of this large financial expenditure the Company failed. It appears that although Mathews was responsible for the new building work some of the internal decoration, especially that in the Drawing Room was carried out after he left. The house was bought by the Jones family in 1829. The Hall was requisitioned during the war and used as a drawing office by cartographers preparing for the Normandy landings.

A rock-faced stone, Neo-Classical house of 2 storeys with cellars. The main wing has NW elevation of 5 bays, with rusticated stone stringcourses at ground floor voussoir and first floor cill levels, a dentil eaves cornice and blocking course, and a hipped slate roof. The ground floor windows are 18-pane sash windows, those to upper storey 12-pane sash windows. A Tetrastyle Doric porch, originally open, has inserted late C19 glazing, half-glazed panelled doors and overlight in the rear wall. To NE an ashlar, 2 bay receded link leads to a 3 bay projecting wing which contains the services. The SE elevation has a 3 bay link with a centre French casement with margin lights leading to a 1 bay projecting wing at NE and 5- window elevation at right hand of main block.

The entrance Hall has a moulded cornice, later C19 black marble fireplace, 6-panelled early C19 doors with Regency oak architraves, and a wooden boarded floor. The Drawing Room retains restored tromp d'oeil painted panels with corner pineapple motifs, the style of which is highly unusual and is a striking contrast to the restrained neo-Classicism of the rest of the room. A white marble fireplace with anthemion motif was supplied by a Liverpool firm. The room contains several examples of graffiti giving the various dates of redecoration and wallpapering. The Dining Room contains a similar white marble fireplace with anthemion motif while a smaller drawing room contains original early C19 Neo-Classical cornice but later 1840s fireplace. The staircase hall contains a wooden staircase with a scrolled string and straight balusters, although a solid slate staircase similar to that of Penrhyn Castle had originally been planned. The square ceiling is pierced by a circular glazed domed toplight.

The service area contains the formerServants Hall, a Butler's Pantry and former Kitchen with a late C19 Cambrian cast-iron range. the bedrooms are very plain with only limited sections of cornice, one room containing an extremely fine imported Rococo wooden fireplace. Cellars under main house only, stone with brick barrel vaulted ceilings, stone flags throughout.
(Source; Cadw listing database) S Fielding) RCAHMW 19/10/2005