Castellau Ganol

Cadw's description

Location

Located up a track on the hillside and built parallel with the slope.

History

An early C17 3-unit long-house with hearth-passage arrangement, containing a hall, heated inner room and cow house. In the late C18 the cow house was divided to make a parlour at the uphill end. At some point the partition between hall and inner room was moved to make the hall larger and a direct entrance was made into the hall.

Exterior

Long range of one-and-a-half storeys facing E with house at N (uphill) end. Constructed of whitened rubble stone under a slate roof, the former cow house under corrugated iron. Stone stack to N end, rendered stacks to centre and L. The downhill end is constructed on substantial stone footings. The current entrance is to the R of centre and leads into the hall. It has a flat head of narrow voussoirs with a late C20 half-glazed door. This is flanked by 3-light multi-pane wooden casement windows with splayed reveals under dripstones. To the far R is a small window in a similar style (formerly with diagonally set mullions). To the L is an enlarged window under a flat brick head, in the position of the original doorway into the cow house, now parlour. The upper storey has 3 windows under the eaves, all 2-light multi-pane wooden casements. That to the L is larger and over the original doorway, the others are irregularly set. The cow house has an entrance with stable doors to the R, and an opening immediately above containing a cross window, but probably originally a loft door. Both have renewed jambs. To the L is a ventilation slit. The S gable end is slight battered and has no openings.

To the rear is a staircase outshut L of centre. It has a small front window with C20 glazing. To the L is a large C20 kitchen lean-to. There is a space between the 2 projections allowing access to the kitchen door. To the R of the staircase outshut is a small late C20 lean-to, within which is the original rear doorway into the cow house, now parlour. The cow house has a planked door to the R and a 3-light casement window to the L, both with renewed jambs.

Interior

Open-plan hall and inner room. Three deep chamfered cross beams with filleted stops partly visible. The central beam has a deep slit for an early partition which would have formed a very narrow hall. The partition was later moved to the N and the inner room used as a dairy. The N beam is boxed in and no original features are retained in the former inner room. In the hall is a large fireplace in the S wall with slightly cambered and chamfered timber lintel. Inside it on the R is a brick bakeoven. To the W is a stone staircase in a projection. To the L of the fireplace is the original doorway from the cow house, now a narrow parlour. A cobbled floor was found in here and a doorway to the W, now leading into a small lean-to, formed the original rear access into the long house. The remaining part of the cow house is now used as store room (not entered).

A corridor runs along the W side of the attic storey. The N room is entered through a timber doorway with ornate head. A small doorway in the NE corner of the room leads to loft stairs. The attic storey above the cow house is said to have trusses with carpenter's marks numbered 1 to 3, and a wall-plate tie beam, a rare feature found only in this area.

Reason for designation

Listed as a sub-medieval farm house retaining its character, the arrangement of the original long-house plan-form clearly discernible.