Llanvair Farmhouse, Trellech United (Tryleg Unedig), Monmouthshire

History

A two-build C17 farmhouse which has been very little altered apart from a minor Victorian upgrading, and by the introduction of electricity and water supplies in the C20. The original part of the house abuts the road. It is an end entry two cell house of a type which was usually of one and a half storeys, but the rendered walls hide the evidence of the probable heightening. This building was added to on the west gable by a taller and wider block with two additional rooms, and a stair-turret was added on the roadside wall. The first build may date from 1590-1610, the second to the years before the Civil War, 1625-40. Notice that Fox and Raglan's interpretation is slightly different and more complicated, and that they date the stair-turret with the first phase. Their photograph shows that more features were visible when they visited in c1950, and the building appears to have been lime rendered at that time, meaning that the stonework was more visible than it is now. A number of features visible then have been hidden by the cement render, see Exterior. The farm was in the ownership of the Beaufort Estate from building until 1901, when it was bought at auction by the present owner's grandfather. Sale documents are retained in the house.

Exterior

The house is cement rendered overall, presumably over conglomerate rubble, as with all the local buildings; the roofs are Welsh slate with the lower courses of stone slates, ridge tiles, the chimney shafts are partly in red brick. The entrance elevation faces into the farmyard. The entrance is into the secondary part of the house and leads to a porch within the building and a plank door (not C17) in a chamfered timber surround. The outer entrance also has a timber surround, but the bases of the posts have rotted and been replaced in stone. The head is slightly cambered and nicked in the centre, the lintel is chamfered, the porch has narrow benches to either side. The door is the entrance to the cross-passage which runs behind the main stack. Above the porch entry is a C19 3-light timber mullioned casement and the rest of the wall to the right is taken up by the kitchen fireplace with a large tall shafted stack rising from the eaves. To the left of the entrance is the original build, with a modern 3-light casement for the hall window and the inner room wall now blank, but recorded by Fox and Raglan as having a blocked window visible. This would have lit the unheated dairy. Above these are two 3-light stone mullioned windows with dripmoulds, again the casements are C19, but the frames are C17. The gable end is blind but has a C20 plank door with a gabled hood into the inner room. This is an alteration from when the inner room was closed off from the house and made into the farm office. The doorway appears in Fox and Raglan's photograph, but not on their plan. The attic originally contained a dove house and two tiers of ledges appear on either side of the chimney in the Fox and Raglan photograph, but these were removed for the cement rendering. The gable carries a diamond set stack which heats the bedroom, suggesting that the upper walls were heightened in the second building phase since the chimney is the same as the three flue one on the other gable (now in the centre of the house backing onto the cross-passage), this heats the hall and the bedrooms on either side and represents an upgrading of the facilities in the mid C17 from what was originally probably a one fireplace house, The road elevation has, in the right hand older part, a C19 3-light mullion and transom window to the hall and a C20 2-light one to the inner room, this second one post dates Fox and Raglan. Above is a 3-light stone mulllioned window with dripmould. The projecting gabled stair wing has a 2 x 2 pane window below. Above this Fox and Raglan show a larger casement and a dovehole in the gable, this is now blank walling. To the left the walling at the end of the cross-passage is hidden behind a bush, Fox and Raglan suggest a doorway. There is a modern 3-light casement beyond this and above is a small 2-pane window. The gable end has a lean-to entrance with door and window; this post dates Fox and Raglan, who record a window beyond, but this was not seen. There is a 3-light mullion and transom casement on the first floor and a small 3-light casement in the attic.

Interior

The cross-passage has the main living room (hall) on the left and this room is a part of the original house. The cross-passage has a spine beam, chamfered joists and a C19 rack of coat pegs. The living room is entered through the original external gable entry. The room has three chamfered beams with lambstongue (ogee) stops, but the fireplace has been blocked in. In the rear corner is the stair entry through a doorway with chamfered jambs and a shaped head. To the right of this is a cupboard, probably the entry to the original firestair. The inner room is now entered only from the outside gable. The stair is a stone dog-leg and has another shaped head doorway into the first floor landing which has a post and panel partition to the bedrooms. These were not seen at resurvey. The stair divides to reach the attics on either side of the main stack. These have principal rafter roofs with two tiers of purlins, only partly seen. The later part of the ground floor was only partly seen, but the kitchen fireplace retains its bread oven.

Reasons for Listing

Included as a two-build C17 farmhouse which has been very little altered.

External Links

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