History

The house was built in 1893, designed by Douglas and Fordham, architects, of Chester, for John Eden (uncle of Sir Anthony Eden). It was acquired by Denbighshire County Council in c1960, and was used as Fire Brigade Headquarters until acquired by the North Wales Constabulary c1990.

Exterior

Rock-faced random rubble, with red sandstone dressings,and slate roof with red-tiled cresting; red brick axial stacks with stone caps. The house is an interpretation of Northern English vernacular architecture of the C17 in its disposition and detail. Main range with wide coped and finialed gabled cross wings, the left hand gable incorporating a separately gabled porch against its inner angle. Stepped hood mould over doorway, with ornamented lintel incorporating the date and the initials E over J&J V. Paired narrow 2-light mullioned windows alongside the doorway, and mullioned windows of 2 and 3 lights above. Continuous string course over ground floor, and flat hood moulds to upper windows. Recessed central range has 4-light mullioned and transomed hall-window, with round heads to upper lights, and 2-light window in high gabled dormer above. Advanced right hand gable has 3-light mullioned and transomed window with round-headed upper lights to ground floor, 2-light window above windows and in the hall windows; windows throughout are metal casements.

Service extension against left-hand gable return with hipped roof, projecting on the garden front to form an open loggia. Garden front has similar disposition to entrance front, with wide outer gables. Paired 2-light mullioned and transomed windows to ground floor of E wing, the hood mould forming continuous string course, with 3-light mullioned window above. Back door in plain chamfered architrave with side lights in angle of main range, with 3-light mullioned and transomed stair window above. Paired mullioned windows to right of main range, with similar windows in gabled dormer above. Paired windows of 2 and 3 lights in right hand (W) gable, in plain stone architraves. Full-height gabled canted bay window in E gable return.

Entrance lobby leads to narrow hall running along the main axis at the front of the house, with principal rooms in E wing and to the rear. Service rooms and secondary staircase in W wing. Hall has wood fireplace with freestanding the date and initials of John Eden. Staircase opens off the hall to the rear: turned balusters and reeded square newels. Rear room of wing (the former morning room) has C17 style fireplace with panelled overmantle; stone 4-centred arched fireplace in rear room of main range (the former dining room). Original joinery survives throughout the house, including characteristic horizontal deep moulded panelling to doors and window embrasures.

Reasons for Listing

A freely interpeted neo-vernacular house of considerable architectural quality.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Llety'r Dryw at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q6662021

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)