Rhydlafr Farmhouse & The Old Byre

Cadw's description

Location

On S side of the road about 2100m N of St Fagans village and close to E side of disused railway embankment and bridge.

History

A late medieval storeyed house that was altered in C17 to C19. Llewelyn ap Evan was the founder of the family which occupied Rhydlafar for six generations until the early C17 when the heiress to the property married William Thomas of Llanbradach. The Thomas family retained possession until early C18 when it was leased; it was purchased by the Earls of Plymouth before 1762 and remained in their estate until recent times. Modern alterations have revealed a wide range of early architectural features.

Exterior

Two-storey three-window farmhouse built across the slope with ramped lime-washed walls and pitched slate roof without end chimneys. All modern cross-mullion, timber windows with stone and slate sills; part of a 4-light stone mullioned window to ground-floor right is set into a wider opening under a stone lintel and covered by lead sheeting. Solid pitched roof porch has been added towards the left of main house.
Lower two-storey extension (formerly the byre) set back on right has modern (?) rubble-faced outside stair rising diagonally towards main house. Another two-storey two-window extension with modern windows to left. The rear elevation retains a two-storey C17 wing with full-height rubble chimney-stack attached at the outer corner but not open internally. Other early features on the rear include an ogee-headed medieval lancet with cusping set into upper floor.

Interior

Ground-floor hall runs to right from within the entrance and has early C17 chamfered beams with curved fillet stops and a lateral stone chimney-piece with double ovolo (recessed) moulding and masonry super-arch over the rectangular opening. There is a bake-oven within the fireplace. The end (S) wall retains a pair of blind segmental masonry arches; the left hand doorway formerly led into the byre which retains a pointed dressed masonry arch on the reverse side. There is said to be a further pointed masonry archway set into the rear wall of the byre extension.
The opposite (N) end wall of the hall retains a small square opening below a partly blocked doorway with voussoir head.
The main roof of the house is of C19 king-post construction, but retains older structural timbers. The upper floor bedroom within the main S wall has a pointed and chamfered masonry archway leading towards upper floor of byre and also has a single cusped stone lancet in rear wall.

Reason for designation

Included, notwithstanding modern changes, for its special interest as a substantially late medieval fabric with major alterations in C17 and later.