Ty-Cooke Farmhouse

Cadw's description

Location

About 2000m north of Mamhilad village in the direction of Llanover.

History

A large house built in c1710 which mostly survives unchanged externally apart from some C20 modernisation, including remaking of the roofs and changes to surface materials. It was built for Thomas Cooke, the manager of the Pontypool Ironworks. It has been suggested that the core of the house is earlier, but the evidence is fragmentary. Bradney says, however, 'the gables were removed some years ago', which would suggest that the house in general is older than it appears.

Exterior

The house is constructed of local sandstone rubble which is partly pebbledashed, with cement banding round the windows (this had already been done in 1950) and the rear is partly lime rendered; concrete tile roofs. It has a three storey four bay main block which faces north and a full height gabled wing projecting at the rear. The north elevation has the door in the third bay under an elliptical head, this has been altered. Otherwise there are three windows on the ground floor and four on the second. All these have 3-light mullion-and-transom casements with delicate framing. flat fronted with ogee mouldings to the interior, which were rebated for glass from the first. Some still have small panes and some have been reglazed in single sheets, with the heads still with small panes; the iron reinforcing bars survive, elliptical heads. The second floor windows are 3-light with small paned casements. Plain roof with end stacks which have been rebuilt in machine cut stone. The left gable has two windows. The right gable was not seen.
The rear (south) elevation, which was not seen closely, has 2 and 3-light Victorian timber casements and a very large lateral stack on the rear wall of the main block.

Interior

Interior not seen at resurvey. It is said to have a large entrance hall with a Victorian white marble fireplace, this was brought in from Maindiff Court, Llantilio Pertholey, the house of Crawshay Baliley Jnr. c1875, now demolished. The parlour has original full height panelling and an early C20 black marble fireplace. Panelled shutters to the windows. The rear wing has a three flight plain stair round a square pier. There is a stone garderobe off the staircase on the first floor lit by a small stone window, an archaic detail for a house of this date.

Reason for designation

Included and highly graded as an important early C18 farmhouse and a part of an important farm group.