Description

The monument comprises the remains of a tower house from the 14th to 15th century. It comprises a vaulted ground floor with a first floor hall reached by added outside stairs on the west. The surviving building shows several phases of construction. The earliest was a hall; the gable end of which now runs out of the west elevation of tower block added afterwards. The tower has a vaulted undercroft originally entered to through a pointed arched door on the west. There is a slot window opening into the southwest corner and quatrefoil light on the south elevation. The first floor room above is entered by a pointed arched doorway now approached by stone steps probably originally of timber with the sockets for the roof of a porch on the exterior. There is a blocked two light trefoil headed window in the north elevation and a blocked single light in the west elevation both of a 14th century date. An inter-mural staircase leads to a battlemented roof. Added to the rear of the building is a smaller wing with a vaulted room at each storey incorporating garderobes. The orignal slot windows are now blocked and the wing partly obscures the two-light window in the north elevation. The battlemented parapet is continued around this wing and a turret added. This section may be 15th century or later in date. The surviving tower was extensively altered when it was incorporated into a now largely demolished 18th century house for the Meare family. The gable end in the west elevation was refaced and new windows and doors with inserted brick reveals. The ground floor was converted to a brick paved dairy and the stone steps to first floor added. The surviving medieval building was extensively consolidated in 1992.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval secular architecture. The monument is a well-preserved example of its type and forms an important element within the wider medieval context. The structure itself may be expected to contain archaeological information in regard to chronology, building techniques and functional detail.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.

Source: Cadw