Tan-y-garth bach

Cadw's description

Location

Set in remote position in upland small-field landcape close to the farmhouse at Tan-y-garth; mountain track runs directly behind cottage, which is sheltered from the west by an irregularly coursed rubblestone wall with stone-on-edge coping.

History

The cottage appears to have been built in the mid- to late-C18 along a long-established mountain track pre-dating the rapid expansion of the slate quarrying industry in this area from the late C18 onwards and was presumably originally a smallholder's or labourer's cottage.

Exterior

Single-storey 2-room plan, aligned roughly north-south, with lofts over both rooms. Roughly coursed rubblestone rendered to south gable; slate roof. Front has 4-pane sashes with slate cills on either side of offset boarded door under flat-roofed slate porch; substantial integral end stack to right and smaller internal end stack with brick shaft on left; small C19 skylight to right and larger C20 rooflight on left. Single-storey lean-to on right gable end and continuous catslide outshut to rear has unbroken rear wall with eaves height just above track level.

Interior

Large room to right has infilled fireplace and comparatively heavy exposed joists to ceiling; smaller room to left approached behind staircase has narrower joists on main axis and small C19 cast-iron fireplace. Narrow straight-flight staircase directly in line with entrance leads to loft, that over right room (the original croglofft) larger and stepped up; smaller to left; exposed single purlins.

Reason for designation

Included as a substantially unaltered mid- to late-C18 smallholder's or labourer's cottage retaining its traditional vernacular character; an important physical survival from the pre-quarrying upland agricultural landscape.