Pentre Wheeler Farmhouse

Location

On W side of minor road between Great Llanthomas and Llwyn-y-Celyn, about 1.3km SSW of Cwmcarvan Church..

History

Bears date 1683 on stone panel above door. House with hall and parlour, and slightly later block at right angles (rear wing demolished). C20 infill in angle between blocks. Fox and Raglan state the older form of the name to be Pentre-Wylan.

Exterior

Farmhouse. Two-and-a-half storeys, two windows, end chimneys. Roughcast render over local rubble, slate roof, brick stacks to end chimneys, the left (S) stack extruded; mainly small-pane casement windows. Central doorway with gabled hood; C19 door; above door, datestone with inscription "1683", fleurs-de-lys, initials "I" over "TM". Two 3-light casement windows to upper floor. Similar window to L of entrance; former window to R now door, covered by lean-to in exposed stone with pantile roof (re-roofing of this to a slightly higher level in progress at time of re-survey visit on 02/09/2000). Small windows to gables at attic level. Two small casement windows on each floor to rear, widely spaced. To N (right of front), former kitchen block with large extruded convex bread-oven to the front, and a pitched corrugated sheet roof covering; behind this, lean-to former "cellar", now kitchen.
The house forms a good group with its barn (q.v.), standing about 10m S on the same axis.

Interior

The hall (or "housepart") has 2 axial ceiling beams with tongue-stopped ovolo moulding, the joists now concealed by a C19 boarded ceiling; a fireplace at the left (S) end with mason-mitred ovolo-moulded wooden lintel; a muntin-and-rail panelled partition under a beam at the right (N) end with a similarly panelled door; and, in the rear (NW) corner, the quarter-turned bottom flights of a fine framed newel staircase with closed string, turned newels and balusters, and a moulded handrail. This staircase rises to the attic. The parlour beyond the partition has axial beams like those in the hall and continued in line the same line. Former cellar and kitchen now ceiled; former kitchen partitioned and fireplace and oven blocked. At 1st floor level there is plank-and-panel partitioning to the chambers, forming a landing-passage which would be unusual for the later C17 but may be original; and one door of muntin-and-rail panelling. The roof has 2 collar trusses.

Reason for designation

A well-preserved C17 small farmhouse, with particularly good wooden staircase and panelled partition.