Llanrothal

43 LLANROTHAL (D.e.).

(O.S. 6in. ^(a)LIII, N.W., ^(b)LIII, N.E.)

Llanrothal is a parish on the S. border of the county, 8 m. S.W. of Ross. The church and Llanrothal Farm are the principal monuments.

Ecclesiastical

^a(1) Parish Church of St. John the Baptist (Plate 4) stands in the W. angle of the parish. The walls are of local sandstone, with dressings of the same material and calcareous tufa; the roofs are covered with stone slates. The N. wall of the Nave dates from the 12th century, but the rest of the building, including the Chancel, was re-built in the following century, probably on a larger scale. The South Porch was added probably in the 16th century. The bell-turret was added or re-built in 1680. The church was restored in 1921, and the North Vestry is modern.

Architectural Description—The Chancel (25 ft. by 17¼ ft.) has a 13th-century E. window of two trefoiled lights with a round piercing in the spandrel; it is perhaps not in situ as the original window is said to have been moved to a local farm and thence to Pembridge castle. In the N. wall is a 13th-century lancet-window; farther E. is a modern doorway and one jamb and sill of a second 13th-century window. In the S. wall are one complete and parts of two other windows similar to that in the N. wall; blocking the two destroyed windows is part of a large window of c. 1400 cut short both at the head and sill; it is of four cinque-foiled ogee lights with tracery and has trefoiled lights below the transom; the jambs are casement-moulded. The late 13th or early 14th-century chancel-arch is two-centred and of two orders, the outer chamfered and the inner rounded; the responds are chamfered and have moulded imposts continued along the wall-face. N. of the arch is a blocked square-headed doorway, with a wooden frame, formerly opening on to the rood-loft.

The Nave (30½ ft. by 20½ ft.) has, in the N. wall, two windows, the eastern of the 13th century and of one trefoiled light; the 12th-century western window is of one small round-headed light. In the S. wall are two 13th-century windows uniform with that in the N. wall; the 14th-century S. doorway has chamfered jambs and segmental-pointed arch. In the W. wall is a 16th-century window of one four-centred light. The late 17th-century bell-turret is square with a W. wall partly constructed of coffin-lids and timber-framing on the other three sides; there are two four-centred openings in the W. wall.

The South Porch is probably of the 16th century. It has plain side walls and a ceiled roof.

The Roof of the chancel is ceiled, but has late 15th-century moulded wall-plates. The nave-roof is also ceiled; it has one chamfered tie-beam.

Fittings—Altar: In chancel—slab with chamfered under edge, scratched crosses probably not original. Bell: by I. P. 1681. Churchyard Cross: S. of church, square base with chamfered angles, lower part of square stem, mediæval. Coffin-lids: re-used in W. wall of bell-turret, several, including two fragments with crossheads, 13th-century. Communion Rails: with turned balusters, moulded top and plain bottom rails, c. 1630–40. Floor-slabs: In chancel—(1) to Anne Roberts, 1701; (2) to Oliver Boothbie, 1673–4; (3) to Philis Barry, 1700, with cross-head over inscription. Plate: includes cup (Plate 57) and cover-paten of 1618 with bands of leaf-ornament. Pulpit: (Plate 59) of four panelled sides, with enriched posts, fluted frieze-panels, lozengeornament on middle panels, c. 1630, base, brackets and shelf, modern. Recesses: flanking chancel-arch on W., two shallow recesses with crude two-centred heads and heavy labels, probably 14th-century. Stoup: In S. porch, semi-octagonal with tapering stem and round basin, 16th-century. Miscellanea: In churchyard—S.W. of church, various worked stones, window-tracery, etc., mostly 15th-century.

Condition—Fairly good.

Secular

^b(2) Tregate Castle, mount and bailey earthwork (Plan, p. xxxvi), 1 m. S.S.E. of the church, consists of a roughly circular mound, about 60 yards in diameter, with a slight rampart enclosing remains of masonry and rising about 12 ft. above the bailey. To the S.W. are a series of terraces which appear to have formed two or possibly three outer courts of rectangular form. There are traces of a ditch on the N.E. side.

Condition—Poor.

^b(3) Tregate Castle Farm, house on the E. side of the mound of (2), is of two storeys with cellars and attics; the walls are of rubble and timber-framing and the roofs are of slate and corrugated iron. The middle block on the W. side appears to date from the 15th century. The eastern part and the S.E. wing were probably added in the 16th century. The N. and S. ends of the house were added in the 18th century. Inside the building the roof of the original block is of four bays and originally of king-post type; the king-posts have been replaced by queen-posts. In the N. wall of the 16th-century addition is a re-set 14th-century window of one pointed light.

The walls of the farmyard incorporate mediæval worked stones.

Condition—Fairly good.

^b(4) The Cwm, house 1¼ m. S.E. of the church, is modern except for the cellars and a one-storey building at the W. end, which are probably of the 16th century. The walls are of rubble, and in the N. wall of the building is a wooden window of four lights. The cellars have a single-light square-headed window in the S. wall and two niches in the W. wall with segmental-pointed heads.

Condition—Good.

^b(5) Broom Farm (Plate 15), house and outbuildings, nearly 2¼ m. S.E. of the church. The House is of two storeys with attics; the walls are of stone and the roofs are of slate. It was built in 1674 and is a rectangular building with a porch on the S.W. side. The porch is of two storeys; the entrance has moulded jambs and four-centred arch in a square head, and above it is a shield inscribed W. and M. G. 1674. The inner doorway has a moulded frame and square head and a door with vertical ribs and ornamental strap-hinges. On the N.E. side is a blocked doorway with a moulded frame. Inside the building is some exposed framing. One room is lined with 17th-century panelling, and there are some doors of the same date. The roof is of queen-post type.

The Stable, W. of the house, is of late 17th-century date and of stone. Two windows and a doorway in the E. wall are original as is a doorway in the S. wall. The roof has queen-post trusses. The Barn, S.E. of the house, and of the same date, is a stone building of L-shaped plan.

Condition—Poor.

^b(6) The Parsonage, house 650 yards S.E. of the church, is of two storeys with attics; the walls are of stone and the roofs are tiled. It was built late in the 17th century and has some exposed ceiling-beams.

Condition—Good.

^a(7) Llanrothal Farm (Plate 21), house ¼ m. N.W. of the church, is of two storeys with cellars and attics; the walls are of stone and timber-framing and the roofs are slate-covered. The central block of the house dates from the 14th century; the projecting S.E. and N.W. wings were added in the 15th century and the S.W. and N.E. wings probably in the 17th century. In the S. wall of the original block is a 14th-century doorway with chamfered jambs and segmental-pointed head; farther W. is a blocked window of the same date and of two trefoiled lights. The S.E. wing has some exposed timber-framing and a six-light window with diamond-shaped mullions on the ground floor; on the first floor is a 16th-century window of thirteen lights with moulded mullions and sill on curved brackets. Inside the building is some exposed timber-framing and ceiling-beams. The doorway between the main range and the S.E. wing has a four-centred head. A late 16th-century staircase has flat shaped and pierced balusters and a moulded hand-rail.

Condition—Good.