Upper Lamphey Park

Description

Small tower house only recent recognised as such (1994), standing but roofless. (Davis 2000)

History: Late medieval with early C19 and C20 alterations. Former house now calf shed forming N end of barn at NW end of the farm complex. The building lies within the medieval deer park of the bishop's palace at Lamphey, and is similar to a number of small 2 storey late medieval stone buildings surviving in Pembrokeshire, at Carswell, West Tarr, West Trewent, and East Trewent Farms. Description: Rubble limestone with some external render, corrugated iron roof covering. Building is 2 storey, rectangular in plan measuring circa 5m (N-S) by 4.5m (EW) with small square stair tower at SW corner. W elevation has C19 door under flat brick arch. N elevation shows projecting chimney stack and corbel at eaves. Interior has gabled N wall with blocked doorway under wooden lintel to L of the ground floor and a blocked reveal of a slot window to R. At first floor level is another blocked doorway (perhaps original entrance) alongside a fire place with quarter round and filleted corbels and a chamfered stone lintel; there is a rectangular recess alongside this fireplace. The W wall has the C19 doorway to R and a blocked doorway in the SW corner leading to the remains of a stone spiral staircase; this opens into the first floor via a partly blocked doorway above. A corbel carries the first floor, and there is a blocked window at first floor to R. The S wall ground floor has fireplace with segmental stone arch, now blocked, with a small slot window with splayed reveal to L. The wall is cut back to take the staircase doorway and there is a corbel above to carry the floor. Possible blocked doorway at first floor (but may be C19 insertion to adjacent barn). Modern feeding trough etc. There is a corbel to carry central roof truss at midpoint of the wall top. The floor is now concrete; pegged roof trusses (C19?). (Listed Building Report)

Comments

One of a handful of building in Pembrokeshire which have some resemblance to the bastles of the Anglo-Scottish borders in building relatively strongly built, rectangular and two storeyed. However these building may be earlier, may not have had the animal byre function of the ground floor room and probalby come from a different building tradition (although a rectangular two storeyed building is a plan of such simplicity it is likely to spontaneously arise anywhere.)