Tretower Court

The gatehouse has a segmental tunnel vault and cobbled floor. In the side walls are benches in recesses. In the S wall is a narrow stone stair to the first floor, which has a fireplace on the N side with integral oven, and stone treads on the S side of a former stair to the upper storey. The N and S walls also have doorways to the wall walk.

In the N range upper storey is a dividing wall between the solar and bed chamber. Grooves in the tie beams define former screens between the outer apartment (consisting of a small 2-bay hall and inner room), 3-bay main hall and solar. The halls and bed chamber have arched-brace central trusses, the remaining trusses have tie beams with queen and crown posts. The outer apartment hall has a fireplace in the N wall, with a raked stone hood added during restoration, the main hall and solar have fireplaces with deep chamfered lintels. In the lower storey are cross beams and a single spine beam, all with run-out stops. Grooves in the beams define the position of the court room and steward’s room. The court room at the E end has a boarded ceiling and a fireplace with deep chamfered lintel. The steward’s room has a garderobe entered through a lintelled doorway. Beyond the steward’s room is the cider cellar, with a segmental tunnel vault. The retiring chamber has a fireplace with a deep lintel in the dividing wall and a separate oven to the R of it with a stone vaulted roof and a raked stone hood projecting on corbels.

The W range has a 3-bay ground-floor great hall, with arched-brace trusses and wind braces. At the S end is a 2-tier post-and-panel partition with Tudor-headed doorways to the cross passage. At the N end is a similar screen above a stone partition wall with 2-centred doorway to the solar. In the W wall is a fireplace with big jambs and lintel.

The solar has heavily-moulded spine and cross beams. A fireplace in the W wall has a deep chamfered lintel, to R of which is a garderobe in a shallow projection. On the N side is a Tudor-headed doorway to R leading to the N range, and a straight wooden stair to the gallery and heated chamber above. The chamber has a post-and-panel partition on N side with 2 ogee-headed doorways, on the R to the N range gallery, on the L to the garderobe. The renewed doors are studded with strap hinges. A fireplace in the W wall has a chamfered lintel.

On the S side of the great hall the service rooms and former cross passage are now undivided. The service rooms are 2-storey with a joist-beam ceiling. In the W wall is a fireplace with a deep lintel. The first floor was originally 2 rooms but was converted to a single room when the fireplace was added in the W wall in the C17. The 4-bay roof has crown posts flanked by raking struts. At the S end is the ground-floor kitchen, reached from the service rooms through three Tudor-headed doorways in a post-and-panel partition. The 2-bay roof is a continuation of the service room roof. A large fireplace in the S wall has a segmental arch. Of the first floor one cross beam survives. In the W wall is a first-floor fireplace with a stop-chamfer surround, and plastered walls have traces of red and light-blue paint.

Consisting of 2-storey N and W ranges around a courtyard. An E gatehouse is flanked by a curtain wall and wall walk, which continues on S side to enclose a quadrangular yard. Of random rubble sandstone and stone tile roofs throughout.

The curtain wall to E has a wall walk above machicolations, which is roofed to the L of the gatehouse with a Tudor window flanked by loops. To L of centre is the 2-storey gatehouse (its upper stage having been taken down). A wide doorway with 2-centre arch is recessed beneath machicolations. Above is a single window with moulded surround. The postern to R of the gatehouse is narrower but similar to the main gateway. At the R end is the N wing gable end, with a restored 7-light mullioned and transomed window in the upper storey, and a blocked doorway below (which led to the court room) flanked by corbels. The courtyard elevation of the gatehouse has a 2-centre archway, to R of which is a small Tudor stair light. The upper storey has Tudor windows in the front and L side walls. The curtain wall has recesses R and L of the gatehouse, and the wall walk above to R has a 2-light window.

The N range has, facing the courtyard, 6 windows in the lower storey with renewed wood mullions and doorways to the court room, steward’s room, cider cellar and a retiring chamber to L at the end of a skew passage in the angle with the W range. A first-floor gallery projects on brackets and is reconstructed with open square panels. The S face of the upper storey is timber framed in square panels with lath and plaster infill. The upper storey has 5 windows similar to the ground floor and 3 doorways with Tudor heads, and boarded and studded doors with enriched strap hinges. The doorways lead to the outer chamber, the main hall and solar.

The gallery continues round to W wing above the solar, where it is also timber-framed but with open panels. In the lower storey the solar has a 4-light oriel window in reconstituted stone. To L, the courtyard elevation of the W wing is a C17 remodelling (contrasting with the rear elevation in which the original layout of rooms remains discernible) of 5 bays with Renaissance detail. In the upper storey are 2-light windows, with cross windows below, and a central doorway in ashlar replacing the barn doors inserted C18 or C19.

The courtyard elevation of the S curtain wall has a similar cross window to R and four 2-light windows to the covered wall walk, which projects on machicolations. A centrally-placed doorway has a recess to R containing a fine C17 grave slab to members of the Vaughan family, brought from Cwmdu church. A similar recess is at the L end. The S elevation of the curtain wall has scars of former gabled projections to R and L. The W wing projects S beyond the line of the curtain wall. In the angle between is a C16 outshut housing a stair to the wall walk. The short E wall has two 2-light C17 first-floor windows. The S gable end has an end stack with two diagonal shafts, and two C17 2-light windows in the upper storey and a similar cross window lower R. To R of centre is a shallow oven projection, and to L is a blocked C15 window.

The long W front has openings corresponding with the C15 division of rooms. To the L is the gable end of the N range with 1-light windows in both storeys. Between the W and N ranges is a full-height garderobe turret. The solar to the L of the W range has 1-light windows flanking an external stack cut down to eaves level. To R of the solar is the great hall with an external stack cut down to eaves height, and flanked by a 2-light window to L and 1-light to R. To R of the hall is the cross passage doorway (renewed in concrete). The service rooms R of the former cross passage have three C17 cross windows in the lower storey, beyond which the kitchen has a 2-light transomed C15 window and C17 lattice glazing behind original iron bars. The passage, service rooms and kitchen have a continuous range of six 2-light C17 windows in the upper storey and 2 gablets offset to R, each with stacks having paired diagonal shafts.

The N wall of the N range has a shallow garderobe turret and stack (cut down to eaves level) to L, flanked by 1-light upper storey windows with stone surrounds and integral iron bars. L of centre is another stack cut down to eaves level, flanked by similar first-floor windows. To R of centre is the solar garderobe turret, with a similar small window to L, and windows to R inserted C15 into the retiring chamber and bed chamber above.

The courtyard has a cobbled path from the gatehouse to the main C17 doorway in the W range, and a narrower cobbled path at right angles leading to the S curtain wall.