History

Early C18 gatepiers and forecourt walls, probably built by Jacob Conway (1653-1718), to serve the new Plas-yn-Llan. Conway was a junior member of the Bodrhyddan family and their crest of a blackamoor's bust appears on each of the gatepiers. The new house was probably inspired by the rebuilding work at Bodrhyddan itself, carried out by Sir John Conway, Bart. in the 1690s (dated 1696 and 1700). It is significant that similar gatepiers with surmounting blackamoor busts also appear at Bodrhyddan, and belong to the same phase.

Exterior

Tall, square gatepiers with adjoining rubble forecourt walls. The piers are approximately 2.5m high (including bust finials) and are of tooled sandstone. They have fielded panels to each face with moulded bases and coved cornices. Each is surmounted by a fine contemporary sandstone bust depicting a blackamoor's head, the crest of the Conway family; both have (renewed) polychromy. Modern decorative iron half-gates; the attachments for the former (wooden) gates remain.

The flanking sections of wall are near-contemporary, though since they are built up against the panelled faces of the piers, one must presume that the piers were originally conceived as free-standing or in conjunction with fencing/hedging. The walls are of rubble, rise to a maximum height of 1.2m and extend to either side of the piers in 5m sections. The L section (S) retains shallow-moulded sandstone copings, of early C18 nature, though apparently reset. The R section (N) retains a small section of similar copings. The walls return towards the house on both sides to enclose a square forecourt; at the SW corner is a modern gate, at the SE is an opening.

Reasons for Listing

Listed Grade II* as an important and unusual pair of heraldic early C18 gatepiers with associated forecourt walls.

Group value with Plas-yn-Llan.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q17741476

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

• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)