St Brides Castle is a 19th-century castellated
Baronial Style
Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th century Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival which Revivalism (architecture), revived the forms and ornaments of historical Architecture of Scotland in the Middle Ages, ...
mansion in the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
of
St Brides
St Brides ( cy, Sain Ffraid) is a parish and small coastal village in Pembrokeshire, Wales, at the south of St Brides Bay, about north of the larger village of Marloes, with which it forms the Marloes and St Brides Community (Wales), community. ...
and the
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
of
Marloes and St Brides
Marloes and St. Brides (Welsh: ''Marloes a Sain Ffraid'') is a community in the West Wales county of Pembrokeshire.
The main settlements are the villages of Marloes and St Brides. Both villages lie on the southern shore of St Brides Bay
The ...
,
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...
, southwest
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
.
History
The house, formerly known as "St Brides Hill" or just "Hill", was developed for William Philipps (1810–1864) in 1833 from an 18th-century house which topographer
Richard Fenton
Richard Fenton (January 1747 – November 1821) was a Welsh lawyer, topographer and poet.
Biography
Fenton was born in January 1747 in St David's, Pembrokeshire, and was baptised in St David's Cathedral on 20 February 1747, "being then a month ...
in 1811 referred to as an "elegant modern structure" which had replaced an ancient mansion to the west. In 1839 the estate extended to . The house was acquired by the 5th
Baron Kensington
Baron Kensington is a title that has been created three times, in the Peerages of England, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
English title (1623)
The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1623 when the Honourable Henry Rich was made B ...
in 1899 and enlarged in 1905 to 1913 for the 6th Baron Kensington, who sold it in 1920. In 1923 it became a
sanatorium
A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
, Kensington Hospital. In 1992 the house was converted to holiday apartments.
Construction
The present house is a two- and four-storey construction of rubble stone with sandstone additions, under slate roofs. It is a mixture of Tudor, Gothic, Edwardian and Scots Baronial styles, with many original interior features.
Historian Nikolaus
Pevsner suggests that the architect may have been Thomas Rowlands and describes the early-20th-century expansion of the castle for Lord Kensington as "the last major country house work in Pembrokeshire".
Current use
After extensive renovation, the current owners are Holiday Property Bond.
The building is
Grade II* listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
"as one of the best late Georgian castellated houses of the region with good interiors and high quality Edwardian additions".
References
Sources
*
External links
* {{Commons category inline, St Brides Castle
Grade II* listed buildings in Pembrokeshire