Castle House, Usk

Castle House in Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales, originally formed the gatehouse to Usk Castle. Much altered in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it is now a private home and a Grade I listed building. HistoryCoflein gives the dates of construction for the gatehouse as 1368-99. For many years, it was the residence of the castle's steward. While the castle declined in the later medieval period and was slighted during the English Civil War, Castle House underwent considerable expansion and was described as a "gentrified town house" in the early twentieth century. In 1925 Castle House, and its grounds including the castle ruins, were purchased for £525 by Rudge Humphreys, whose family still own the estate. Humphreys undertook major excavation and restoration of the grounds, details of which were recorded in an archive of one hundred and seventy photographs, copies of which are held by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Architecture and descriptionThe building is of three storeys, in stucco, and with a slate roof. Its gabled rear range "incorporates the inner half of the late fourteenth century gatehouse" to the castle. The house is a Grade I listed building, its listing recording the reason for the designation; "listed as a major historic building, in particular (for) the importance of its medieval gatehouse". The gardens of Castle House, dating from the early twentieth century, include a herb garden with medieval planting and are occasionally open under the National Gardens Scheme.

Castle House in Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales, originally formed the gatehouse to Usk Castle. Much altered in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it is now a private home and a Grade I listed building. HistoryCoflein gives the dates of construction for the gatehouse as 1368-99. For many years, it was the residence of the castle's steward. While the castle declined in the later medieval period and was slighted during the English Civil War, Castle House underwent considerable expansion and was described as a "gentrified town house" in the early twentieth century. In 1925 Castle House, and its grounds including the castle ruins, were purchased for £525 by Rudge Humphreys, whose family still own the estate. Humphreys undertook major excavation and restoration of the grounds, details of which were recorded in an archive of one hundred and seventy photographs, copies of which are held by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Architecture and descriptionThe building is of three storeys, in stucco, and with a slate roof. Its gabled rear range "incorporates the inner half of the late fourteenth century gatehouse" to the castle. The house is a Grade I listed building, its listing recording the reason for the designation; "listed as a major historic building, in particular (for) the importance of its medieval gatehouse". The gardens of Castle House, dating from the early twentieth century, include a herb garden with medieval planting and are occasionally open under the National Gardens Scheme.