History

Probably early C18 lofted cottage, with a parlour bay added to the R in the C19, and another building (probably a cowhouse, replaced in the late 1930s) added to the L, making a linear range. Following the addition of the parlour, the door to the original cottage was partly blocked to make a window, and the main entrance became through the parlour bay. The windows to the cottage along the rear elevation were widened to take advantage of the views over Church Bay, probably during the phase of mid C20 improvements (c1936).
Caerau was formerly a smallholding, or 'tyddyn'. The group also includes a boiling house range, and pigsty-henhouse range (both also listed). The cottage range is marked as a simple rectangle on the Tithe Map of the parish of Llanrhuddlad, 1843. The map is poorly annotated, not all the buildings are shown and none of the agricultural buildings are recorded. The name is recorded as 'Caerau Mill' and includes the parcel of land on which Melin Drylliau stands. Owned by John Williams, the tenant is recorded as William Rowlands, one of the renowned family of Anglesey millers, also farming over 20 acres(8.1 hectares) of land. By the late C19 the cottage formed part of the Tregarnedd estate; now in private ownership.

Exterior

Early C18 lofted single-unit cottage, with added parlour wing to R and modern wing to L (the latter replacing an earlier building). Rubble masonry with boulder foundation, rendered and limewashed. Roof of old small slates, heavily grouted to older part, with stone gable copings to R and cement copings to L. The extent of the original house is marked by a massive stack to R gable, and false stack to L; stack on R hand gable of parlour; a similar matching false stack at L gable of modern extension. The main entrance is now offset to the R of the large chimney and leads to the parlour bay; a boarded door with glazed upper panel flanked by unevenly spaced recessed 4-pane casement windows; that to the L was the doorway to the original cottage. The raking half-dormer has a 2-pane casement window with small upper light. The rear elevation of the original cottage has a widened 4-light 'picture' window, each window with narrow 8-pane sash windows, separated by timber mullions. To the L, the parlour window is a recessed 4-pane casement retaining its original proportions. To the R, the modern addition has two closely set 12-pane sash windows. Small iron skylight to rear pitch. To the front of the old part of the cottage is a low stone wall enclosing a rectangular (with rounded corners) garden; two entrances with wrought iron gates.

Interior

The original plan was a single-unit crogloft cottage with central offset doorway. The main entrance now leads into the parlour bay to R, with passage to L leading to original part, and steep wooden staircase to loft. The original part has a wide inglenook fireplace to the R end, with a stop-chamfered ceiling beam and hewn joists. The roof is of two bays with a crude collared truss of re-used timbers. There is a second entrance to the newer bay to the L, which also leads into the original part.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as an early C18 vernacular cottage (with additions and alterations) which demonstrates the development of the traditional linear cottage range on Anglesey in the C18 and C19, with the original single-unit cottage embedded in a range of later domestic and agricultural buildings. The cottage forms the centrepiece of an unusually complete smallholding group, which also includes a boiling house and a pigsty-henhouse range, and is also a highly picturesque example of the local vernacular.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29484835

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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