The Cwm

Cadw's description

Location

Situated some 350m NE of Llantrissent, just E of A449 trunk road embankment.

History

C16, early C17 and early C18 house. Single-unit C16 block to E with C17 extension to W and C18 wing at right angles to N. The original block has stone mullion windows like those at Pentwyn. Identified by Fox and Raglan as one of a group of 13 such houses with freestone windows, closer in type to the national lowland building type than the regional style. Marked on 1840 Tithe Map as owned by the Duke of Beaufort occupied by William Blower, with 104 acres (42.1 hectares). Said to have 1742 date, not seen.

Exterior

House, painted roughcast with some exposed rubble stone and concrete tiles to roofs. Two storeys, T-plan. Original C16 block is left (east) end of cross-stroke, a single-room unit with undercroft and small brick W end stack. A slightly lower range continues this range to W and a longer rear wing runs N with rebuilt brick end stack. Old photograph shows exposed rubble stone to all visible elevations, now only E gable and N wall of original E block and W gable of W block are exposed.
Original block has fine 4-light recessed hollow-moulded stone mullion window with Tudor-arched heads and counter-sunk spandrels, on first floor of N side. Similar 2-light with missing mullion to ground floor right of E gable end, first floor triple casement, and relieving arches over both, lower has stone hoodmould. Attic single light with eroded square frame, shown blocked in c1950 photograph.
S front rewindowed in C19 or earlier C20, original block has 6-pane sash above, ground floor door and C20 lavatory window. Addition to left has lower roof, 4-pane and 12-pane upper sashes, ground floor 3 4-pane sashes. Windowless W gable end. Rear N wall has 4-pane horned sash each floor.
Rear N wing has W front with long 4-pane stair light in angle to right, then 4-pane sash (former door) to centre and broad 6-pane sash to left, with 4-pane sash above under eaves. N end has 2 small loft lights. E elevation has ground floor painted brick lean-to addition. First floor has 3 C20 windows, there was only one at extreme left in c1950 photograph.

Interior

Within lean-to a relieving arch on back N wall of original block. This has massive walls to ground floor undercroft with heavy beams and square joists. One beam has stepped run-out stop to chamfer. First floor has 4 beams, 3 ovolo-moulded beams with barred stepped hollow stops, third over partition, fourth encased. Remainder of some simple scribed moulding around N window. E wall has fine blocked Tudor-arched doorway, presumably once reached by external stairs. W wall now in bathroom, has partly exposed massive stone fireplace lintel.
W range seems to have been added in late C17 or early C18, beam with stepped hollow moulded stop over W fireplace, one C18 fielded panelled door to ground floor, two cupboards on W wall with fielded panelled doors. N range has 2 chamfered beams each floor with thin chamfer, probably C18.

Reason for designation

Included as an important survival of a C16 house, successively extended in C17 and C18 to form a substantial farmhouse of distinctive T-plan, with considerable original detail surviving, notably the windows and moulded beams of the original block.