The Swiss Cottage, Rockfield, Monmouthshire is a gatehouse to The Hendre estate and was designed by Sir Aston Webb in 1905. It is a Grade II* listed building.
| Swiss Cottage | |
|---|---|
 "...not particularly Swiss" | |
| Type | Gatehouse |
| Location | Rockfield, Monmouthshire |
| Coordinates | 51°49′32″N 2°45′17″W / 51.8255°N 2.7546°W |
| Built | 1905 |
| Architect | Aston Webb |
| Architectural style(s) | Arts and Crafts |
| Governing body | Privately owned |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Swiss Cottage, Llangattock-vibon-Avel |
| Designated | 3 September 1991 |
| Reference no. | 2857 |
  Location of Swiss Cottage in Monmouthshire | |
History and description
editThe Hendre was the country home of the Rolls family since the 18th century[1] and, as the fortunes of the family rose, was subject to three major expansions in the 19th and 20th centuries, to the designs of George Vaughan Maddox,[2] then Thomas Henry Wyatt,[2] and finally Aston Webb.[2] Webb constructed the Cedar Library at the main mansion in the very late 19th century[2] and in 1905 designed the Swiss Cottage.[3] It formed a terminal point on the “3-mile Drive” constructed by Lord Llangattock, and designed by Henry Ernest Milner.[4]
The cottage is single-storeyed, with a dormer above, and is constructed of old red sandstone.[3] The roof is hipped and pierced at either end with large chimneystacks. The interior contains an inglenook fireplace. Cadw notes influences from Lutyens and Voysey,[3] while the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales considers it "an inspired and unusually distinctive symmetrical Arts-and-Crafts design".[5] The architectural historian John Newman described Swiss Cottage as "a sweet little thing but not particularly Swiss".[6]
Notes
edit- ^ Newman 2000, p. 247.
- ^ a b c d Newman 2000, p. 250.
- ^ a b c Cadw. "Swiss Cottage (Grade II*) (2857)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ Whittle 1990, p. 3.
- ^ "Swiss Cottage (20874)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ Newman 2000, p. 516.
References
edit- Newman, John (2000). Gwent/Monmouthshire. The Buildings of Wales. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-071053-1.
- Whittle, Elisabeth (1990). The Hendre (PDF). Cardiff: Cadw.