Cow Byre and Mill at Plas yn Blaenau

Cadw's description

Location

The byre and adjoining mill building form part of a row of farm buildings built into rising ground below the farmhouse. Byre united to adjacent byres to S by stone staircase rising from farmyard to farmhouse garden. Mill adjoins the N end of byre.

History

Byre probably built in C18 or early C19. Mill building has date 1832 painted on a roof truss in an apparently contemporary hand.

Exterior

The byre is a 2-storey vernacular building, orientated N-S, built into a storey- height change of ground level. The corn mill building adjoins the N end of the byre and stands at right angles to it. The S gable wall of the byre abutts a flight of stone stairs, with adjacent byre range, separately listed. The byre is entered on E side from yard level. Accommodation on upper floor, used for storage, is entered on W side from the higher garden level. Built of colourwashed local stone rubble with slobbered mortar. Gabled slate roof with clayware ridge. Three entries on E side with single hardwood lintel resting on two intermediate stone piers. Lintel extends S over small casement window. Two symmetrically positioned casement windows above. Boarded door to upper floor on W side. Corn mill built of local stone rubble with pebble-dash render on elevations and gabled slate roof with clayware ridge. Entries at lower level from N and E and at upper level from S. Boarded doors and wooden casement windows. The clayware conduit which carried water from the millpond to drive the mill enters the building on the S side.

Interior

The byre has an open rafter roof with through purlins and trusses with raking struts, similar to farmhouse. Framed hardwood upper floor structure. The corn mill building has an open rafter roof with through-purlins and king-post trusses with secondary raking struts. Date of 1832 painted on tie beam. Iron staircase rises from lower floor to landing at upper (garden) level. Remains of water driven corn milling machinery adjacent to W wall including timber launder which enters the building at upper floor level on the S side, an overshot iron wheel with wooden buckets, cast iron pit wheel and wallower and line shafting components.

Reason for designation

Included as examples of C18 and early C19 farm buildings including corn mill and for group value with other listed buildings at Plas yn Blaenau.