Braich-ty-du

Cadw's description

Location

Situated on rough track in isolated position with its fambuidings below the A 5 to the east of the Afon Ogwen; the back wall of the building is cut into a high bank offering protection from the elements.

History

Built as a pair of farmhouses forming a single farm unit associated with the agricultural colonisation of the Nant Ffrancon valley by the Penrhyn Estate in the mid-C19. Although the 2 dwellings served the same farmholding, the rougher masonry of the northern part suggests that it may be slightly earlier than the southern one and may in fact be a remodelling of an older structure. The 2 dwellings are now occupied as one.

Exterior

Pair of 2-storey, 2-room farmhouses forming a long rectangular block aligned north-south. The northern part has roughly coursed rubblestone blocks to ground floor and smaller roughly coursed masonry on first floor; regularly coursed and dressed rubblestone blocks to southern unit; continuous slate roof with brick coping to gable ends. Each dwelling has 2 late C20 16-paned sashes with slate cills on each floor flanking slightly offset boarded doors with narrow rectangular overlights; integral red brick end stacks and ridge stack shared between the 2 units. Small single-storey outbuilding attached to left gable end has 6-paned sash window to left of boarded door.

Interior

C19 straight-flight staircases with full-height heck screen to left of entrance to each unit.

Reason for designation

Included as an essentially unaltered mid-C19 pair of farmhouses forming a single farm unit, associated with the Penrhyn Estate's expansion of agriculture onto the marginal land of the Nant Ffrancon valley at this period; the dwellings are an important physical survival of this process.