Porth-Mawr (Great Gate) is a gatehouse on Brecon Street in the centre of Crickhowell, Powys, Wales. Constructed in the 15th century by a branch of the Herbert family as the entrance to their Tudor mansion of Cwrt Carw, it is a Grade I listed building.
| Porth-Mawr Gatehouse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Gatehouse |
| Location | Crickhowell, Powys, Wales |
| Coordinates | 51°51′37″N 3°08′15″W / 51.8604°N 3.1376°W |
| Built | 15th century |
| Governing body | Privately owned |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | Porth-Mawr Gatehouse |
| Designated | 4 January 1952 |
| Reference no. | 7158 |
| Official name | Porth Mawr |
| Reference no. | BR114 |
  Location of Porth-Mawr Gatehouse in Powys | |
History and description
editThe Herbert family, of Raglan Castle, were Anglo-Welsh nobility whom became predominant in South East Wales in the 15th century. A branch of the family constructed a large mansion at Crickhowell, Cwrt Carw (Cwrt-y-Carw), and Porth-Mawr (Great Gate) was built as a grand gatehouse entrance to the mansion in the late 15th century.[1] The mansion itself was torn down in the 19th century after a serious fire, and a new house was built on the site in around 1825.[2] At the same time, the gatehouse, and the attached wall in which it is set, were given castellated decoration.[1] Robert Scourfield and Richard Haslam, in their Powys volume in the Buildings of Wales series, describe the reconstruction as "highly Picturesque".[3] The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales attributes the wall to the late 18th and/or early 19th centuries.[4]
The gatehouse is built of rubble and is of two-storeys.[a][7] A spiral staircase leads to a first-storey chamber and the gatehouse has a small turret to the roof.[7] Porth-Mawr is both a Grade I listed building[7] and a scheduled monument.[8] Cadw's listing record notes Porth-Mawr is an example of a gatehouse to a secular, as opposed to an ecclesiastical, building, of a type relatively rare in Wales.[7]
Notes
edit- ^ During extensive reconstruction at the very end of the 20th century, the gatehouse was given a, historically accurate, coating of yellow limewash.[5] This provoked considerable comment in the local press.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b "Porth Mawr Gate House, Cwrt-y-Carw (16106)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ Cadw. "Porth Mawr House (Grade II) (7157)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ Scourfield & Haslam 2013, p. 473.
- ^ "Porth Mawr Boundary Wall (31268)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "Porthmawr Gatehouse in Crickhowell". Tŷ-Mawr Lime. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "Porthmawr Gate House, Crickhowell". Historypoints.org. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d Cadw. "Porth-Mawr Gatehouse (Grade I) (7158)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ Cadw. "Porth Mawr Gatehouse (Grade SM) (BR114)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
Sources
edit- Scourfield, Robert; Haslam, Richard (2013). Powys: Montgomeryshire,Radnorshire and Breconshire. The Buildings of Wales. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-18508-9.