Tyddyn-y-Felin

Cadw's description

Location

In a rural location, set well back from the NE side of a country road which leads SE from the Harlech crossroads along Fonllef Hir; c3km ENE of Llanfair. At the end of a track leading NE off the road at Bryn Gwyn.

History

Late C16 2-unit system of 2 linked households; lateral chimney farmhouse, dated by an inscription on the wooden partition in the passage which bears the date 1592, probably the date of the original build, smaller single storey cottage set at right angles.

The farm was the centre of an extensive farmstead of close to 200 acres (81 hectares) in the mid C19, owned by Griffith Griffiths and occupied by John Griffiths.

Since the C19 Tyddyn y Felin has been home to 4 generations of the Evans family, the stone above the front door commemorates the life and work of John Evans, author and poet.

Exterior

Late C16 2-storey farmhouse with single storey cottage to SW linked by a modern addition. The late C16 house is built to a T-shaped plan and constructed of roughly coursed dressed stone with large boulders as quoins. Slate roof with stone copings and tall gable stacks with dripstones and capping; that to S gable a later addition. The roof has been re-slated in C20 and has small roof lights in the rear pitch.

The principal elevation opens into the enclosed garden to W, a 3-window range with 2 of the 1st floor windows offset to the L (N) and the doorway offset to S. The large stone lintel above the door bears a plaque which bears the inscription: Tyddyn y Felin / Cartref / John Evans / Awdur / Perlau''''r Friddoed / 1892-1949 [erected in 1992]. Flanking ground floor windows are tall 4-pane casements, 1st floor windows are 2-pane horned sashes; all windows have rough stone lintels and slate sills. There has been a single window cut in the rear elevation, and a further window in the N gable, both have modern top hung casement windows. Offset to N end at the rear of gable projection houses the lateral stack and what is thought to have been a staircase within the angled block set in the SE angle; a recent brick built lean-to in the angle to NE has a boarded door in the E elevation.

To SW of the C16 farmhouse is a single-storey cottage which may have been an earlier house or a dower house. Built of local rubble masonry with large stones as quoins and lintels, the roof has been re-slated and includes some small rooflights along the N pitch; tiled ridge and with stone coping and large gable stack to W with dripstones and capping. The principal elevation opens into the enclosed garden to N, a single doorway is offset to L (E) and there is a single small window to R.

The 2 units are now linked physically (though there is no internal access between the 2) by a modern, flat roofed, single-storey addition to SE.

Interior

The C16 farmhouse has a cross passage plan with lateral chimney block to rear; a wooden panel in the passage bears the date 1592.

The single-storey cottage to SW has a massive corbelled fireplace with large timber bressumer to the R (W) gable which retains an old brick built boiler. The roof retains roughly chamfered collared trusses.

Reason for designation

Listed as a fine example of an upland farmstead, developed as a ''unit system'' of linked dwellings and clearly showing the hierarchical relationship of the 2 dwellings. Retains very good regional vernacular character.