Cae Mawr

Cadw's description

Location

Situated at head of track running uphill to S of A487 from Ty-hir farm about 1.5 km SW of Furnace.

History

A small former farmhouse once associated with a farm of c50 acres (20 hectares). There are documentary references to the house from as early as c1734, but the present house is unlikely to be before c1840. The farm is shown on the 1847 Tithe Map for Ysgubor y coed township in Llanfihangel Geneu'r glyn parish, but the arrangement of buildings, and of associated boundaries recorded there is not exactly matched on the first edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1888, perhaps suggesting a mid century remodelling. The farm was part of the Gogerddan estate until c1920. Farm buildings now virtually lost; the rear outshut is said to have served as a cow-house, though use as a dairy seems more probable.

Exterior

Small farmhouse within the Georgian tradition characteristic of Ceredigion in the early-mid C19. Quarried rubble, whitewashed to front elevation only, concrete tiled roof (replacing slate), with gable end stacks. 2 storeys, 3-window range with 3x12-pane sash windows to first floor, and 3 similar windows to ground floor, that at centre replacing an earlier doorway. Entrance is now via a glazed porch against the left-hand gable, but there is an earlier doorway with stone voussoirs in the right hand end of the outshut which runs the full length of the house. Small windows in gable ends are mainly inserted, though the outshut window in the left-hand gable has stone voussoir head and may be original.

Interior

Two room plan, with principal room to right. This retains large fireplace with timber lintel, and bread oven with cast iron door. Ceiling largely renewed, but there is a small area of earlier joists in the alcove to right of the fireplace. Wide doorway through to outshut with boarded door. Similar door between living room and present kitchen, which has smaller fireplace (and was probably originally a parlour). Both rooms have slate flagged floors. Staircase now rises from the outshut, cutting through the thick rear wall, but is thought to have risen from the living room originally. The original plan form is therefore difficult to interpret, as the presence of a central doorway (now a window) might seem indicative of a central staircase. Roof trusses are partially visible and have bolted trusses, suggesting a mid C19 date.

Reason for designation

Listed notwithstanding some alteration as retaining character in the Georgian tradition characteristic of small Ceredigion farms of the nineteenth century.