Craigwith House

Cadw's description

Location

Off the south side of Park Road and about 2300m west of the centre of Llangybi village.

History

The earlier part of the house probably dates from c1600 with the stair wing added in 1630-40, and the later section perhaps, like nearby Ton Farmhouse (qv), from the 1660s. At some time it became divided into separate dwellings, as it was in 1980, and has now reverted to one property and is currently being converted. 'Such houses as these illustrate, even better than straight forward unitary examples, how the appreciation of a familiar pattern for living favoured the preservation (through several generations of our farming families) of the three-room and cross-passage plan, if modern features such as a broad stairway, new windows, and new woodwork are from time to time included.' (Fox and Raglan III, p 58)

Exterior

The house was not available for inspection at resurvey (January 2001) and was seen only at long distance which demonstrated that it was still extant and was partly covered in scaffolding. The building is rendered over local rubblestone and has a Welsh slate roof. It is in two sections, both of two storeys. On the left, a 'Regional'-style small two-room house, altered and with a gabled rear stair-wing added in the early C17. On the right, a cross-passage, third room and second stair, were added in the later C17. The house is now irregular in design, with two windows in each section, those on the right are sashes with glazing bars and some of those of the left-hand section are likewise. Steeply pitched roofs with three stacks, on each gable and at the cross-passage position. This description is adapted from the existing list description of 1980.

Interior

The interior is said to contain a 'Tudor' doorhead and a half-spiral stair mainly of wooden blocks in the left-hand section. There is in-and-out partitioning and an open newel stair with original flat balusters of ornate profile in the right-hand section. These details were recorded by Fox and Raglan and also in the list description of 1980.

Reason for designation

Included as a two period C17 Monmouthshire farmhouse which is believed to retain its character.