Llanerch

Cadw's description

Location

Llanerch in the centre of the upper Dyfi valley, below the road running along the NW side of the valley from Cwm Cywarch to Llanymawddwy.

History

The farmhouse and barn in line are of sub-medieval date, constructed on cruck trusses, thus probably of the mid-late C16 or early C17. The farmhouse appears to have been a simple 2-room house with a heated living room with gable stack and an inner room at the lower end, and has a wing on the NE side forming an 'L'-plan, probably contemporary in date, and originally probably containing a dairy. The 3-bay farm building or barn appears to have been originally timber framed, and has been extended by a further bay downhill. The house, which features in its present form on the tithe map, was owned and occupied in 1841 by Owen Jones, when it had 78 acres (31.6ha) of land. It was extended into the upper bay of the barn in the C20.

Exterior

The farmhouse is downhill sited, constructed with slate rubble laid on bed, and whitewashed, and has a slate roof. The early farmhouse and farm building are set in line across the contours, the farm building at the lower end, and the farmhouse at the upper. The main entrance door, of uPVC and now deeply recessed in the NE wall, has been moved from a position adjacent to the cross wing, where it was sheltered in a porch. uPVC windows throughout, with a small dormer to the upper floor room (bathroom) over the dairy in the end wing, and timber lintels. Part external stack at the upper end, and on the end of the wing.

Interior

The interior contains a main living room with chamfered spine beam and cut stops, with a large inglenook gable fireplace and a blocked opening on its left, perhaps an oven or smoking cupboard. To the right of the stack a dog-leg stair. A door by the stair opens to the dairy, now the kitchen. The inner bay is divided into two, and has evidence of a cruck truss in the gable end against the farm building. The stair well beside the fireplace is timber framed, with evidence for a further extant cruck in the NW gable end, and for the roof having been raised, perhaps in the C17. It now carries 2 tiers of purlins. The centre collar beam and strut truss of the house has the principal rafters trenched for purlins, and added rafters carrying the single tier of purlins at a higher level. The joints of this truss are numbered by chisel. The ridge piece is set at an angle.

The barn in line has two pairs of curved cruck trusses set on a wall plate on stone footing walls. The building appears to have been widened on the SW for part of its length, retaining the winnowing floor with evidence for flanking half walls. The tie beams and collars are trenched and double tosh-pegged over the cruck blades, and the apex is abutted. The third truss, at the lower end before the two-storey end extension is of collar and tie beam type. This end bay has a cowhouse at the lower level, and perhaps a granary over.

Reason for designation

Included, notwithstanding the replacement of the house door and windows, as a well-preserved and instructive example of a small farmhouse with integral farm building of the sub-medieval period, the whole constructed with surviving cruck trusses and probably originally with both stone and timber walling, and perhaps indicative of the replacement of the timber framing tradition with stone for more permanent dwellings.