Castle House, Usk

Castle House in Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales, originally formed the gatehouse to Usk Castle.[1] Much altered in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,[2] it is now a private home[2] and a Grade I listed building.[3]

Castle House, Usk
"a major historic building"
TypeHouse
LocationUsk, Monmouthshire
Coordinates51.7050°N 2.9022°W / 51.7050; -2.9022
BuiltMedieval to 19th century
Architectural style(s)Vernacular
Governing bodyPrivately owned
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name: Castle House
Designated30 April 2004
Reference no.2128
Location of Castle House, Usk in Monmouthshire

History

Coflein gives the dates of construction for the gatehouse as 1368-99.[4] For many years, it was the residence of the castle's steward.[4] While the castle declined in the later medieval period and was slighted during the English Civil War, Castle House underwent considerable expansion and was described as a "gentrified town house" in the early twentieth century.[5] In 1925 Castle House, and its grounds including the castle ruins, were purchased for £525 by Rudge Humphreys, whose family still own the estate.[5] The Monmouthshire antiquarian Joseph Bradney, in his History of Monmouthshire, recorded that Humphreys was agent to a Mrs Perry-Herrick, "who owns considerable estates in th(e) county".[6] Humphreys undertook major excavation and restoration of the grounds, details of which were recorded in an archive of one hundred and seventy photographs, copies of which are held by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.[7]

Architecture and description

The building is of three storeys, in stucco, and with a slate roof.[2] Its gabled rear range "incorporates the inner half of the late fourteenth century gatehouse" to the castle.[1] The house is a Grade I listed building, its listing recording the reason for the designation; "listed as a major historic building, in particular (for) the importance of its medieval gatehouse".[8]

The gardens of Castle House, dating from the early twentieth century, include a herb garden with medieval planting and are occasionally open under the National Gardens Scheme.[9]

Notes
  1. Newman 2000, p. 592.
  2. "Castle House, Usk Castle | Site Details". Coflein. 1998-12-17. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
  3. Good Stuff IT Services (1953-02-16). "Castle House - Usk - Monmouthshire - Wales". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
  4. "Listed Buildings - Full Report - HeritageBill Cadw Assets - Reports". Cadwpublic-api.azurewebsites.net. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
  5. "Usk Castle". Usk Castle. Archived from the original on 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
  6. Bradney 1993, p. 11.
  7. "Humphreys Album". Coflein. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
  8. "Listed Buildings - Full Report - HeritageBill Cadw Assets - Reports". Cadwpublic-api.azurewebsites.net. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  9. "Castle House, Usk, Gwent, NP15 1SD – National Garden Scheme". Ngs.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
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References
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