Windsor Place, Cardiff

Windsor Place Victorian terrace

 

According to Newman, the most complete C19 terraces to survive in Cardiff (p217). Although not built until the mid nineteenth century these buildings have a strong Georgian feel with their beautiful red brick façade. Period features include the prominent cornice below the plain parapet, tall ground and mid floor windows and string course between them. Perhaps less characteristic of the Georgian style are the raised mouldings around the windows.

Original terraced house

Interior with fire place and solid stairs

Last year one of the last unmodernised south wales valley cottages was bought by Cadw. Situated in Cwmdare, the house has its original windows, slate roof and range. 


House front

Dating from 1854 the building has  a certain charm, you can clearly see the construction of local stone with large dressed corner stones and rubble infill. The well proportioned sash windows are topped by shallow arched brick lintels and the cills are made of slabs of stone. The front door is also very plain and honest in its construction. The roof is slate and the chimney stack survives.

Cadw has described what it is doing with the building below
Many people recognise the importance of listed buildings and conservation areas and understand that care must be taken to ensure that traditional materials are used in their repair and maintenance. However, many of buildings in the south Wales Valleys have suffered decades of alterations which mean the distinctiveness of our Valleys towns is at risk of being diluted or lost completely.

The Cadw building will also become a learning resource for those who work or live in traditional Valleys housing in Wales. The project aims to promote understanding of the importance of retaining the character and history of Valleys housing. It will also provide practical advice on technical issues such as thermal performance to demonstrate that keeping original features in good repair really does pay, environmentally and economically.

http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/about/news/6456503/?lang=en

Windows

This house was highlighted in the Aberdare townscape survey as having extravagant render detailing and being an example of the late nineteenth century trend towards middle class homes with bay windows. http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/docs/cadw/publications/urban_character_aberdare_EN.pdf
Unfortunately over zealous repairs to the bay window roof led to the collapse of the bay and its replacement with a plastic one.

This is a perfect example of the gradual loss of the small details that help make buildings and towns distinctive. Each change is small and relatively insignificant but the small changes add up so that soon it becomes impossible to find original features like doors and windows. Interestingly the  bays and other detailing on this terrace are actually made from cast stone. They were probably bought from a catalogue as there are identical bays in nearby Abernant.