Swiss Cottage, Rockfield


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.

History and description

The Hendre was the country home of the Rolls family since the 18th century 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, then Thomas Henry Wyatt, and finally Aston Webb. Webb constructed the Cedar Library at the main mansion in the very late 19th century and in 1905 designed the Swiss Cottage. The architectural historian John Newman described the cottage as "a sweet little thing but not particularly Swiss".
The cottage is single-storeyed, with a dormer above, and is constructed of old red sandstone. Cadw notes influences from Lutyens and Voysey.