Graigwen

Cadw's description

Location

On the north side of Ton Road about 150m west of the centre of Llangybi village.

History

This village school was built in 1831 under the patronage of the Williams family of Llangybi Castle. The family had a concern for the education of their tenants and built and maintained the school privately which was thus a rarity, a mid C19 village school which belonged neither to the National Society nor to the parish. It probably became the teacher's house in 1894 when the wing was built and this may well coincide with the building of the parish school next door.

Exterior

The building is wholly rendered and painted, presumably over local rubblestone and has Welsh slate roofs. It has two storeys to the original build and one storey to the wing which was attached to the right gable in 1874 (dated). Three regular cast iron casement windows with unusual lattice-pattern glazing, each has 4-lights. The ledged door (probably inserted in 1874) takes the place of three lights in the right-hand window. Unmoulded dripstones to all windows. Low pitch roof with deep eaves and gable stacks each with a single octagonal shaft. The left gable has a smaller window of the same type. Single-storey gable-fronted advanced wing on the right, with one matching window and incised decoration in gable. This covers the gable end of the original building and presumably its original entrance door. The wing also has a right facing gable with a small window and the date 1874. Tall brick stack. Rear elevation not seen.

Interior

Interior not seen at resurvey. It presumably originally had the schoolroom below and the teacher's accommodation above. The light levels must be poor which seems odd for a school unless all the windows date from 1894.

Reason for designation

Included as an attractive example of an early C19 village school with remarkable cast iron glazing and an interesting history.