Pontbrenmydyr

Location

Set into the slope above Afon Mydyr, in sight of Llanerchaeron House. Reached off the E side of the A482 down a short lane past Minafon.

History

Probably mid to later C18, small end-entry croglofft cottage, enlarged downhill in C19 and then further extended in two phases by the addition of animal accommodation and outhouse.

Exterior

Whitewashed cob-walls to original cottage, with rounded corners and thatched roof now clad in corrugated-iron. W end small brick stack. Entry at upper W gable end, where cob walling has been partly rebuilt. Boarded door with timber lintel to left and small 3-light casement to right. Projecting stone for tying down the thatch. S side has two 9-pane casements, SE corner fallen in (1994), revealing more of the constructional technique, in particular the lath and plaster inner skin. Otherwise S side is unusually well-preserved. N side, to track, has been rebuilt in whitewashed rubble stone, with one small 4-pane casement left of centre.

The stepped down C19 additions are whitewashed rubble with slate roofs. The addition to house and the cow-shed are separately stepped down as is the corrugated-iron roofed outhouse.

Interior

The plan form with gable-end entry suggests an earlier date than most surviving cob-walled cottages. The chimney retains the remains of a wicker hood, now concealed by an inserted ceiling. C19 brick range inserted into fireplace. Roughly hewn roof timbers with scarfed feet to trusses, the underside of the roof thatch largely complete. Later partition to rear and outer room in extension.

Reason for designation

Graded II* for the unusually complete survival of a West Wales cob-walled cottage, with specially characteristic features such as the wicker chimney-hood. Cob-walled cottages are becoming very scarce in the region, where once they were typical.