Cwm-Berllan

Cadw's description

Location

On the S side of a sunken track approximately 250m NE of Rhulen church.

History

A late medieval hall-house (with attached in-line agricultural bays) of c1500. Two truncated cruck trusses define its original central hall. Walls were replaced in stone c1650, when the hall converted to a parlour and service room, and the inner room became a kitchen with a large chimney and wooden stair to the new upper floor. There is evidence for a doorway directly into the cowhouse from the service room. The 3-bay barn was added in-line c1800. After a period of disuse renovations were made 1999-2000 for its adaption as a bat sanctuary.

Exterior

A house with integral cow-house and added lower barn, of whitened rubble stone, limewashed, slate roof to the house and cow house, corrugated metal roof to the barn. Openings have modern lintels. The central modern boarded door is flanked by windows boarded over. The cow house has 3 doorways and a central loft doorway below the eaves. At the lower end, the barn has a large threshing doorway (with opposed doorway to the rear) and modern boarded doors with lapboarding above. The apex of the gable end is also lapboarded. A rear window to the house has an ovolo-moulded wooden frame (boarded over). The cow house has a broad rear window.

Interior

The house has a remarkably complete C17 plan-form. An entrance lobby has a service room to R, large parlour to rear, and to the L, a kitchen with fireplace (the stair to the R of the fireplace has been lost). The fireplace beam has incised zig-zag decoration. A spine beam has ogee stops. New softwood floor to room over kitchen. A post-and-panel partition between the service room and parlour has an ogee-moulded doorway; to the rear are reeded joists to the ceiling (in poor condition). The lofted cowhouse of 3 bays has remains of a central feed-passage (formerly with ties for 12 cattle to each side). The 3-bay barn has roof trusses with raking struts. In the house and cowhouse, the principal members of the old roofs remain with new secondary rafters and ties.

Reason for designation

Listed for its architectural interest as a regional house illustrating the development of the small upland farmhouse from medieval open hall to storeyed house, with the complete survival of C17 plan-form, and much architectural detail.