Hentland

33 HENTLAND (D.d.).

(O.S. 6 in. ^(a)XLVI, N.W., ^(b)XLVI, S.W., ^(c)LI, N.W.)

Hentland is a parish 4 m. W. of Ross. The principal monuments are the Church and Gillow Manor.

Ecclesiastical

^b(1). Parish Church of St. Dubricius stands about the middle of the parish. The walls are of roughly squared and coursed local sandstone rubble with worked dressings of the same material; the roofs are covered with stone slates and tiles. The Chancel, Nave and North Aisle were built or re-built c. 1300, except perhaps the S. wall of the nave. Late in the 14th century the West Tower was added, and about the middle of the 15th century the E. wall of the chancel and the N. wall of the N. aisle were re-built and the chancel and nave were re-roofed. The North Vestry and North Porch are modern. The church was restored in 1853.

Among the fittings the mediæval bell and a Jacobean carved chair in the chancel are noteworthy, and the mediæval churchyard-cross is an interesting example of its kind.

Architectural Description—The Chancel (24 ft. by 18 ft.) has in the E. wall a window of c. 1300 and of three pointed lights in a two-centred head. In the N. wall is a single-light window, of the same date, rebated externally and with a trefoiled head; farther W. is a modern archway opening into the modern vestry. In the S. wall are two single-light windows, both uniform with that in the N. wall. There is no structural division between the chancel and the nave.

The Nave (46 ft. by 19½ ft.) has a N. arcade of c. 1300 and of four bays with two-centred arches of two chamfered orders, with octagonal piers and semi-octagonal responds, with moulded capitals and chamfered bases; high up in the wall to the E. of the arcade is a stepped opening which originally connected with the rood-loft. In the S. wall are three windows; the easternmost is of the 14th century and of two uncusped lights with a pierced spandrel, moulded jambs and two-centred head; the middle window is of c. 1350 and of two trefoiled ogee lights with cusped spandrels in a square head; it has been almost completely restored externally; the westernmost window is a single 14th-century light with a trefoiled ogee head; between the two westernmost windows is a blocked doorway of c. 1300 with a two-centred head; on the outside it is almost entirely hidden by a modern buttress and chimney; east of the easternmost window is the E. jamb and part of the rear-arch of an earlier window.

The North Aisle (7½ ft. wide) has in the E. wall a single-light uniform with those in the N. and S. walls of the chancel. In the N. wall are two similar windows, the western being modern; the N. doorway, of c. 1300, has chamfered jambs and segmental-pointed head. In the W. wall is a window uniform with those in the N. wall but probably in situ.

The West Tower (12¾ ft. square) is of late 14th-century date and of three stages with a moulded plinth and an embattled parapet. The tower-arch is two-centred and of two wave-moulded orders, the outer continuous and the inner dying on to the responds. In the W. wall of the ground stage is a window of three cinque-foiled lights with modern vertical tracery in a two-centred head. In the second stage, in both the S. and W. walls, is a small light with a two-centred head. The bell-chamber has, in each wall, a window of two trefoiled ogee lights with a quatrefoil in a two-centred head.

The Roof of the chancel is of mid 15th-century date and of scissor-beam and collar construction with each length of the main timbers stop-chamfered. The nave roof is of the same date and construction but with the collars omitted.

Fittings—Bells (Plate 25): four, treble of 1627; 2nd of 1628; and the 3rd inscribed in Lombardic capitals "Eternis annis resonant (-et) campana Johannis," pre-Reformation and probably 14th-century. Brass indent: under second arch of nave arcade, of square plate. Chair (Plate 26): In chancel—with turned front legs carried up above seat to support shaped arm-rests, front rail to seat carved with arabesque ornament, carved back with head of arched panel supported on Ionic capitals, flanked on either side by two Jacobean figures, and surmounted by carved scrolls, etc., early 17th-century. Chest: In W. tower, with rectangular moulded panels to front, ends and lid, and retaining original lock-plate, second half of 17th century. Cross (Plate 33): In churchyard—N.E. of N. aisle, with square base with chamfered top edge, lower part of considerably shortened stem, octagonal on plan with stops at bottom, and original cross-head, oblong on plan with gabled top and ogee arched recess on each face; in E. recess carved Crucifixion with figures of St. John and the Virgin; in N. recess figure of a bishop; in S. and W. recesses, carved figures too worn to be recognisable; mid to late 14th-century, considerably worn. Coffin-lid: In nave—re-used as lintel to middle window in S. wall, with circular cross-head carved in low relief; lower part with stem built into wall, late 13th-century. Door: To W. tower staircase, two vertical boards with horizontal battens at back, with four-centred head, 15th-century with modern strengthening and lock. Font: with octagonal bowl with recessed panel on each face carved with roses and two human heads; underside of bowl of ogee form ornamented with series of bracket-like projections; octagonal stem with trefoil-headed panel on each face; chamfered base on square sub-base, late 15th or early 16th-century. Glass: In chancel—in E. window, set in modern work, three figures in yellow and brown on grey glass, (a) half-figure of saint, holding book; (b) three-quarter figure of a man, hands missing; (c) half-figure of a female saint with hands in prayer, date doubtful. Locker: In N. aisle—in N. wall, plain rectangular. Monuments and Floor-slabs: Monuments. In churchyard—near E. end of N. aisle, (1) to John Mayend, 1684–5, and Elizabeth his wife and Anne his daughter, both 1684, table-tomb with shallow consoles at ends enclosing oval-shaped panels, with epitaph at W. end and on S. side; N.E. of chancel—(2) to Martha, wife of . . ., 1698, head-stone, with partly defaced inscription; (3) head-stone with defaced inscription recording death in 1695; E. of chancel, (4) to John Seymore, 1712, head-stone with shaped top; (5) to Robert Smith, 1687, head-stone with shaped top with a winged hour-glass; near N.W. angle of N. aisle, (6) to Hugh Tomkins, 1699, head-stone; by path to N. porch, (7) to Richard Howells, 1707, headstone with border of oak-foliage; (8) to William and Elizabeth Colley, both 1701, head-stone with shaped top. Floor-slabs. In nave—at E. end (1) to W . . . Ballard, 1669, with partly defaced inscription and incised border; (2) to George Vaughan, 1685–6. In N. aisle—under first bay of nave-arcade (3) to Margaret, wife of George Vaughan, 1681. Piscina: In N. aisle— at E. end, rectangular with modern drain. Plate: includes pewter flagon, probably of 17th-century date. Pulpit: octagonal on plan, open on one side and remaining sides each with two panels, lower square and upper with semi-circular head enriched with egg and tongue ornament, with foliated spandrels and supported on fluted Doric pilasters; carved frieze and moulded dentilled cornice and enriched base, early 17th-century, with modern restoration. Screen: between chancel and nave—mainly modern but incorporating 15th-century work including chamfered posts, moulded mullions, and parts of traceried heads to open upper panels. Sun-dial: On S. wall of tower— square slab with dial, name and date, Annah Smith, 1680. Miscellanea: Re-set within recess of blocked S. doorway to nave, two portions of late 17th-century monument with shaped cartouches and cherub-heads.

Condition—Good.

Secular

^c(2). Chapel Tump, 550 yards S. of St. Owen's Cross, has been much defaced and the contours altered by modern cottages and gardens. The enclosure was perhaps roughly oval on plan with an area of about ¾ acre; there are traces of a bank along the N.W. and S.E. sides. The surrounding ditch remains on the S.W. side, where the outer scarp is rock-cut, and on the greater part of the N.W. side. The interior rises about 8 ft. above the bottom of the ditch.

Condition—Bad.

^c(3). Gillow Manor (Plate 176), farmhouse and moat, 1 m. S.W. of the church. The House is of two storeys with attics and basement; the walls are of local stone rubble with worked dressings of the same material, plastered timber-framing and some modern brick; the roofs are covered with modern slate. It is in four ranges built round a rectangular courtyard and dates from the latter part of the 14th century. The projecting gatehouse on the S.W. front and the block adjoining it on the N.W. are original, as are also some of the courtyard walls and possibly some of the internal walls. In the 16th century the gatehouse was partly re-built, a wing was added on the N.W. side of the building, and at the end of the century a staircase was inserted on the S.E. side of the new wing. Early in the 17th century a large part of the N.E. and S.E. ranges were re-built, and later in the same century the S.E. end of the S.W. range was re-built; the upper part of the N.W. wing was also re-built in the 17th century. The house has been considerably altered in modern times and an additional staircase has been inserted on the N.W. side of the courtyard.

The S.W. Elevation has, projecting from the middle of the original front, the gatehouse; it is surmounted by an embattled parapet and has the front wall continued beyond the side walls as buttresses. The entrance archway has chamfered jambs and four-centred head and opens into a passage-way with a segmental-pointed barrel-vault; above the archway is a horizontal moulded string. The first floor has a 16th-century window of four lights in a square head with a moulded label; S.E. of this window is a small square-headed window lighting a garde-robe; in the return N.W. wall of the gatehouse to the upper floor is a small square-headed window, now blocked. N.W. of the gatehouse, on the ground floor, is a late 14th-century window of two transomed and trefoil-headed lights with a quatrefoil in a two-centred head with a much-weathered label; it has been blocked with later brickwork. The S.W. end of the N.W. addition is of three storeys with attics and is gabled; the ground storey or basement has a modern doorway inserted in the aperture of a 16th-century square-headed window with a moulded label. The N.W. elevation has, towards the S.W. end, a large chimney-stack diminishing in projection and width towards the top in irregularly placed weathered off-sets; N.E. of the stack is a modern plinth, and the upper part of the wall is of 17th-century date; in the wall is a 16th-century window of three square-headed lights, one of which is blocked, and S.W. of the chimney-stack is a single-light window of the same date; there are three other old blocked windows in this part. The N.E. Elevation has towards the N.W. end a blocked square-headed window of two lights and retains two early 17th-century windows with moulded frames and mullions, one on the ground and one on the first floor; the chimney-stack is rectangular and has some modern refacing as has the wall adjoining it. The S.E. Elevation is almost entirely covered with ivy; the two chimney-stacks appear to be of 17th-century date.

The Courtyard has on the S.W. side the back of the entrance gateway; the walling here is of squared rubble and has an embattled parapet; the archway (Plate 13) to the entrance-passage has chamfered jambs and two-centred segmental arch; above the archway is a blocked late 14th-century window of two cinque-foiled lights in a two-centred head. Part of the N.E. wall is of rubble and part has been covered with rough-cast as has the whole of the S.E. wall.

Interior. The 16th-century N.W. range has in the ceilings of the Basement and also those of the upper floors, heavy stop-chamfered beams. In a recess, in the N.E. end of the S.E. wall of the Basement, formed by the blocked entrance to a stone stair, is a life-size effigy (Plate 40), in stone, of early to mid 15th-century date; the figure is in an upright position and in civilian costume; he wears a tight-fitting jacket with skirt reaching to above the knees and carried as a collar high up the neck, a loose tunic open at the sides and with a scalloped fringe and sides, tight-fitting hose and pointed shoes and skull cap; the tunic is gathered in at the waist by a belt to which a pouch is attached. The N.E. range has, on the ground floor, stop-chamfered ceiling-beams and 17th-century panelled partitions; on the first floor the ceiling-beams are also exposed as is the timber-construction in the walls. The S.E. range has exposed timber-construction and stop-chamfered ceiling-beams. The S.W. range has stop-chamfered ceiling-beams in the ceiling of the ground-floor room immediately N.W. of the gatehouse. The upper floor of the gatehouse has in the N.W. wall a 14th-century doorway with stop-chamfered jambs and two-centred head; adjoining the doorway is a stone fireplace, the head of which, together with part of the wall above, has been re-built. In the S.E. room is an old doorway with chamfered jambs and square head. The walls of this room still retain the shaped stone corbels which carried the timbers of the original roof. The late 16th-century staircase (Plate 62) has the timber-construction exposed in the walls; the staircase rises from the ground to the first floor in four flights and has square newels with shaped finials, flat-shaped balusters and moulded handrails; the doorway at the head of the stair has chamfered jambs and four-centred head. The Roof to the N.E. range has queen-post trusses of an elaborate form. The roof to the N.W. range is of collar-beam type with tie-beams. The roof to the S.E. range has queen-post trusses.

The Moat formerly surrounded the house and formed a square outer enclosure on the S.W. side.

Condition—Of house, fair, except the S.E. range, which is poor.

^c(4). Great Treaddow, house, and barn on W. side of road, about 1½ m. S. of the church. The House is of two storeys with attics. The walls are of local stone ashlar and rubble with some brick; the roofs are covered with modern slate. The middle part of the N. side of the building is possibly of 15th-century date. Additions on the E. and S.E., partly on the site of earlier work, are of late 16th or early 17th-century date. The W. wing was built towards the end of the 17th century, enclosing the S.W. angle of the early building. The roofs have been extensively re-built and the interior altered in recent years, and modern additions have been made at the N.E. corner of the house. The E. front, S. of the modern additions, is of ashlar and has four gables at either end. The S. front has the projecting wing at the E. end gabled; the W. end of this front is of coursed rubble and has a chamfered plinth and a plastered cove at the eaves. The N. front has the W. end of rubble with a plastered cove at the eaves, and the E. end is of ashlar. The W. front has, to the return N. end of the 15th-century building, a rubble base surmounted by a timber-framed wall with the timbers exposed and showing the original "crutch" construction (Plate 21). All the fronts have been altered and show blocked doorways and windows.

Inside the building some of the timber-construction is exposed, and in the ceilings are exposed stop-chamfered beams. The Barn stands to the E. of the house. The walls are of stone rubble and rectangular timber-framing with brick nogging; the roof is covered with modern slate. It was built in the 17th century and has a modern addition on the N. end. The S. wall and a few feet at the southern ends of the side walls are of rubble. The roof is in three bays with braced tie-beams to the trusses and wind-braces.

Condition—Of house and barn, good.

^c(5) Treaddow, house on W. side of road, 280 yards N. of (4), is of two storeys with attics. The walls are of local sandstone ashlar and rubble, timber-framing and brick; the roofs are covered with stone slates. The N.W. wing and the W. wall of the W. wing are the remains of a late 16th-century building. In the first half of the 17th century the main chimney-stack was added on the E. side of the N.W. wing and what is now the eastern part of the house was re-built. The house was thus of Z-shaped plan with the northern arm extending towards the W. and the southern arm towards the E. A modern passage and buildings adjoining have been added on the N. side of the house and a modern one-storey addition has been made in the S.W. angle of the building. The E. front is of coursed rubble, except the upper part of the projecting gable at the S. end, which has been re-built in brick. The S. front has, towards the E. end, an old window with an original moulded wood frame. The W. front has the projecting N. end gabled, and the old wall at the S. end is also gabled; the northern gabled wall has on each floor an old two-light window with a square head. The N. wall is hidden by the modern additions. Inside the building both ground and first floors have exposed ceiling-beams, those in the S. wing being moulded and the others stop-chamfered. In the S. wing some of the timber-framing is exposed. On the W. side of the main chimney-stack is a blocked stair, presumably leading to a former cellar. On the first floor, in the S. wing, is a room lined with re-set early 17th-century panelling; some of the panels have lozenge-shaped decoration in the middle; the doorway has stop-chamfered jambs and a moulded lintel enriched with incised cheveronornament. The house retains several 17th-century panelled doors.

Condition—Good.

^c(6). New Inn, at St. Owen's Cross, 640 yards N. of (5) and 1 m. S. of the church, is of two storeys and attics. The walls are of ashlar, partly rendered in plaster, and the roof is of modern slates. The building is of 17th-century date with a modern E. porch and modern additions on the W. Inside the building are some stop-chamfered ceiling-beams and exposed timber-framing.

S. of the inn is a two-storeyed barn of 17th-century date. The walls are partly of timber-framing and brick nogging, and partly of stone rubble.

Condition—Good, but much modernised.

^b(7). Llanfrother, house and barn, nearly 1½ m. N. of church. The House is of two storeys with attics and cellar. The walls are of local ashlar, plastered timber-framing and brick. It is built on an L-shaped plan with the wings extending towards the N.W. and S.W. The cellar and the walls to the height of a few feet above the ground are of stone and of the 16th century, but the upper part was re-built early in the 17th century in plastered timber-framing; in the latter part of the same century the end of the S.W. wing was partly refaced or re-built in ashlar. The house has been much altered in modern times. The N.W. front has the end of the projecting N.W. wing gabled; the cellar has a two-light stone-mullioned window; the plastered wall-face above is ornamented with pargetting, the angles with a geometrical pattern, the windows with a border of fleurs-de-lis, and the wall face with baskets of flowers symmetrically spaced at intervals. The N.W. front to the S.W. wing has two two-light stone windows to the basement, and to the ground-floor entrance-doorway an early 17th-century door hung on two strap hinges with shaped ends and with a pierced escutcheon. The N.E. front has a doorway to the cellar with a four-centred head and an old nail-studded door. In the S.E. front, lighting the staircase, is an early 17th-century window of three lights with moulded wood mullions. Inside the building, in the basement, is a well. In the S.W. wing is some exposed timber-construction, and on both ground and first floors are exposed stop-chamfered ceiling-beams. On the first floor is a fireplace of c. 1700 with a moulded surround. The staircase in the N.W. wing is of c. 1700 and has a moulded string and handrail, turned balusters and a panelled dado.

The Barn, W. of the house, is of early 17th-century date with a modern addition on the N.W. side at the N.E. end. It has a stone base with a timber-framed and brick-filled superstructure, and a modern S.W. wall of stone; the roof is covered with corrugated iron. The N.E. and S.W. walls are gabled, and in the N.W. are some original windows with diamond-shaped wood mullions.

Condition—Of house and barn, good.

^a(8) Tresech, house and barn, 1000 yards N. of (7). The House is of two storeys with attics; the walls are of local sandstone ashlar and rubble, plastered timber-framing and some brick; the roofs are covered with stone slates. The outline of what appears to be a 'crutch' truss, visible beneath the papering on the first floor, suggests a mediæval origin to the house, but with this exception the greater part of the existing structure is apparently of late 16th or early 17th-century date, built on a T-shaped plan with the cross-wing at the W. end; a northern addition at the E. end of the E. wing was built in the 18th century. Considerable alterations have been made to the middle portion of the E. wing, and c. 1700 the S. wall of the W. wing was refronted in ashlar. The S. front has the projecting end of the W. wing gabled; the head of the doorway leading to the cellar in this wing is inscribed "I.R. 1701," and both the ground and first floor have a mullioned window of two lights with a moulded label. Both ends of the S. front of the E. wing are plastered and gabled with the walling between of ashlar; in the roof between the gables is a dormer-window; in the E. gabled end is a blocked early 17th-century doorway with the remains of a moulded label. The E. front is of plastered timber-framing with the timbers exposed; on the ground floor are the jambs only of an early 17th-century window of two-lights, and on the upper floor is a similar window complete with its original head and mullion. The W. front, W. of the 18th-century addition, has a stone base with exposed timber-framing above. In the E. end of the wall is an early 17th-century window from which the mullion has been removed and a modern frame inserted, and on the first floor is an original window now blocked, of two round-headed lights in a square head. Inside the building nearly all the rooms have exposed ceiling beams, those in the ground-floor room at the W. end of the E. wing being moulded. One room has some plain original panelling and another room has an early 17th-century plaster ceiling with four lions passant in relief. At the first floor-level above the kitchen, an old roof-truss, possibly of mediæval date, is partly visible.

The Barn, projecting towards the N. from N.W. corner of the house, is of timber-framing with plank and plaster infilling on a rubble foundation. It is L-shaped on plan with the wing projecting towards the E. It is of early 17th-century date, and the E. wing is a late 17th-century addition. It is of two storeys, and the roof has tie-beams and collars to the principals. There is a gabled dormer-window on the W. side.

Condition—Of house and barn, good.

^a(9). Tresech Mill, called locally "the Bone Mill," 240 yards N.N.W. of (5), is of two storeys. The walls are of stone rubble, plastered timber-framing, brick nogging and weather-boarding; the roofs are covered with modern tiles and corrugated iron. It is built on an L-shaped plan with the wings extending towards the N. and E. and is of late 16th or early 17th-century date with late 17th-century alterations to the W. end and modern additions on the N. and E. It has two gabled dormer-windows in the E. front. Inside the building some of the timber-construction is exposed, as are also the ceiling-beams.

Condition—Bad, rapidly deteriorating.

^c(10). St. Owen's Cross, at S.E. corner of crossroads 1 m. S. of the church, has a modern timber cross set upon a mediæval stone base half embedded in a modern wall. The base is square and has a socket for an octagonal shaft.

Condition—Of base, much weathered.

Unclassified

^c(11). Gaer Cop, earthwork, on either side of the road, ¼ m. N.W. of St. Owen's Cross, has been much ploughed down and obliterated. The enclosure is of egg-shaped form with an area of about 17 acres. It occupies the top of the hill, and there are traces of the scarp almost all round the area; this still retains the form of a bank at the N. end. On the S. side, the line of the outer edge of the bank is probably preserved by the curved line of a lane.

Condition—Bad.