Lower Pentre Farmhouse

Location

Lies on the south side of a by-road leading from Painscastle to Llandewi Fach church.

Exterior

C17, remodelled in C18. L-plan, two storeys with attic. Rubble stone, overpainted. Slate roof to west side, asbestos sheeting to east. Rubble stack to east gable and to west of centre. Random arrangement of windows mostly under crude stone hood moulds. More formal arrangement on the west gable which has an attic window and a row of doveholes in the apex. Mullion windows of diamond section survive on the first floor to front and rear.

Farm range adjoining house: Stables/byre set at right angles to the house. Rubble stone, asbestos roof. Four boarded doors, dormer loft opening and loft window to yardside. On the garden side are partially concealed mullion windows under hood moulds. They have internal shutters formed of rough boards hung on gudgeon pins. The stable was part of the house in living memory and two blocked doors denote the position of a former passage. The cowhouse has central transverse feeding passage, boarded partitions forming stalls and calves cott, low wooden mangers.

Interior

Principal partition walls are of post and panel construction although only one, in the dairy, is visible. Exposed ogee-moulded beam in dairy, exposed thick-set and closely spaced chamfered and ogee-stopped joists in the two easterly rooms. Ornate C17 doorhead between these two rooms. In the central room is a partially concealed large ovolo moulded fireplace lintel. The end room was partitioned off in the C18/C19 and a corn drying kiln built into the chimney alcove (this has largely been removed by recent alterations). Flagstone floors and early wide floorboards.

Reason for designation

Included as a fine, largely unaltered vernacular farmhouse with good internal detailing.