The Eagles

Cadw's description

Location

Located on the E side of Church Street, just S of Bodorgan Square and c.125m NE of the Church of St. Beuno in Aberffraw.

History

Early C18 schoolroom; a charity school founded in 1735 following a bequest in the will of Sir Arthur Owen of Bodowen (and Orielton, Pembrokeshire). The school building was originally formed by 2 cottages (the Royal Commission recorded a plaque over one doorway bearing the date 1729, but this is no longer visible) which were converted into one structure when the school was founded. The ground floor had the boy's schoolroom on one side and schoolmaster's kitchen and sitting room on the other; the first floor had the schoolmaster's bedroom and girl's schoolroom (reached by the external stairs). The will of Sir Arthur Owen prescribed 'a school for the teaching and instructing of youth in the Welsh language', but it is known that the first master, John Beaver, was a Londoner (and one time tutor of Thomas Holland and his brother, heirs to Plas Berw) and Charity Commissioners later reported that the school was not using the language designated by the founder. Local tradition also states that two well-known preachers stayed in the house; Richard Owen and Jubilee Young. The Eagles is one of the oldest buildings in the village and its name is thought to be a corruption of eglwys (church), since it was reputedly built on the site of the chapel of the Princes of Gwynedd (though there is no archaeological evidence to back this theory). The building ceased being used as a school when a new school was built in the village in 1859 and is now in use as a private residence, the internal layout radically altered during renovation work of the 1980's.

Exterior

A 2-storey, irregularly fenestrated, 4-window range with flight of external stone steps to right (SW) end. Built of rubble masonry, roughcast rendered. Modern slate roof with rendered ridge stacks, one offset to NE, one at NE gable and a larger, square stack to SW end. Openings are small with doorway offset to NE.

Reason for designation

Included for historic interest as an early C18 schoolroom range; retaining its earlier form in external arrangement, notwithstanding alteration on conversion to a dwelling.