Site Record

The plan of this probably early 18th century, Renaissance, house is unusual in not being symmetrical. In the conventional Renaissance layout, with the entrance doorway placed in the middle of the facade, the interior plan generally has a central lobby and staircase which divides the ground-floor space into two rooms. Placing the front door and the staircase at the side meant that a single large ground-floor living room could be created, which was an advantage in a smaller house. In 19th century the house was partly revamped and a new staircase added, and more recently it has been re-rendered with some like-for-like repairs.

In the C17 Pont-yr-ychain belonged to the Needhams of Hilston. Later the house was owned by Thomas Williams, Dean of Llandaff. Subsequently it formed part of the estate of Sir Joseph Bradney.

Early C18 Renaissance house, externally rendered with a plinth, a hipped roofwith lead flashings and two tall chimneystacks in end-wall to the west (one brick, one rendered) and bracketed eaves. It is two storey plus attic, with the front roof slope containing three dormer windows each with monopitch roof, tiled cheeks and 2+2 pane casements. The first floor has three square window openings with 6-pane horned sashes and stone sills, and the ground floor has 4-panel door with 3-pane horizontal overlight (left) and two 12-pane horned sashes (right) with stone sills and panelled aprons.
The end-walls of main house are blind. The rear elevation has a projecting kitchen wing with a hipped roof (left) and smaller hipped stair wing (set back to right), each with small roof-light.
The kitchen wing has 20th century metal windows in broad camber arched openings on the ground and first floors, while the stair wing has a 20th century window on the first floor and 6-panel door on the ground floor. A single storey back-extension with hipped slate roof projects at centre of rear elevation. Against end-wall of extension (right) is small brick lean-to with corrugated asbestos roof.

The entry into broad stair-hall which has a dado rail and a ceiling cornice. There are19th century quarter-turn stair with landings, and an open string with applied brackets. The landings have turned newels and ramped hand-rails. The bottom newel-post is omitted and the hand-rail is swept round in spiral turn and carried on simple square section balusters. The front room has a moulded ceiling cornice, panelled shutters and blocked segmental arched opening in the axial wall. There is a 6-panel door to the kitchen and the 4-panel doors to first floor bedrooms have fielded panels. The bedroom fireplace has good 18th century Forest (`duck's nest') cast-iron grate. The habitable attic is partitioned, with collar trusses and two tiers of purlins.
(Source; Cadw listing database) S Fielding RCAHMW 03/08/2005