Agricultural range at Bettws

Cadw's description

Location

Set back from the W side of a country road leading N out of the village of Llanbedrgoch towards the B5110; located c1.5km NNW of the Church of St Peter. The range lies to N and W of the house and forms the NW and NE sides of the farmyard.

History

Appears to be an early C19 estate built agricultural range, contemporary with the adjacent farmhouse which formed part of the Bodorgan Estate. The Tithe Apportionment of 1841 records the owner as being O F Meyrick Esq, and William Roberts, farmer of 24 acres(9.7 hectares) as the occupier. The service wing was added in mid-late C19 and the property was bought from the estate by the then tenant in the 1960s.

Exterior

Agricultural range built to an L-shaped plan to form 2 sides of a yard and comprising, along the NE range, a lofted cartshed and stables; cowhouses along the NW range are abutted by a single storey boiling house. There are both rubble and breeze block additions along the NE range and in the angle between the two.
Built of rubble masonry with large stones as quoins and large stone lintels to openings. Slate roof with tiled ridge and copings. The lofted cartshed at the R end of the NE range has 2 wide cartbays, and an external flight of stone steps lead up to the loft door in the SE gable. The abutting stables are partially obscured by the later additions, access via a doorway between the two. The NW cowhouse range has 3 doorways spaced along the range. The small boiling house is set back from the main range and has a single doorway to the R and a small fixed light of small panes to the L; small rectangular stack at L (SW) gable.

Interior

The stable range can also be accessed via the R cowhouse door. Both cowhouse and stables have A frame trusses and retain original fittings including timber partitions and mangers. The stable range is thought (by the owner) to contain the rubble wall of the original cottage which preceded the present farmhouse.

Reason for designation

Listed as a good early C19 agricultural range which forms a coherent group with the adjacent farmhouse. The buildings retain all the character and planned form of a small estate built farmstead.