Cwm Chwefru Farmhouse, Llanafanfawr (Llanafan Fawr), Powys

Entry Name: Cwm Chwefru Farmhouse

Listing Date: 17 July 1990

Last Amended: 12 January 2001

Grade: II

Source: Cadw

Source ID: 7506

Building Class: Domestic

ID on this website: 300007506

Location: Set down in the valley bottom on the SW side of the River Chwefru and a narrow lane which runs N from the B4358. Converted former farmyard ranges to the SE.

County: Powys

Town: Builth Wells

Community: Llanafanfawr (Llanafan Fawr)

Community: Llanafanfawr

Locality: Cwmchwefru

Traditional County: Brecknockshire

Tagged with: Farmhouse

History

Sub-medieval farmhouse said to date from 1643, with a fireplace lintel dated 1688. The house has a centralised plan-form which may date from the early C18, with hall to L and parlour to R. However, it was originally a long-house with a door at the downhill (parlour) end leading into a byre. A doorway at the upper end of the hall, now leading to a staircase, may have been an earlier end-entrance. A projecting stone on the W gable end indicates that the sub-medieval house was probably thatched. A dairy wing was added to the rear of the hall in the late C18, with a more recent addition to its upper end.

Exterior

House of one-and-a-half storeys, constructed of rubble stone under a slate roof with eyebrows over upper windows and rubble stone end stacks. Entrance to S and offset to the R. Recessed door with ribs in ovolo-moulded timber surround, under a long timber lintel. Stained glass window dated 1878 to L of entrance, possibly in an original opening, with splayed reveals. Late C20 3-light wooden window to its L, and similar single light window to R of door, both with timber lintels. Two similar 3-light windows to upper storey, between which is a small light under the eaves. Large flat-roofed dormer to centre with 4-light window. A small single-storey range added to the W gable end has a planked door to the front and a skylight above. Small C20 window to gable end offset to L.

To the N side, the windows are as front to the L and centre, 2-light to the lower storey and 3-light above. Three skylights to roof pitch. To the R is the single-storey dairy range at right angles. It has a 3-light window to the gable end, a single light to the E and stable doors to the W. The small added range to the W has a planked door to the L, the wall advanced to the R.

Interior

The house has a central-entrance arrangement with hall to L and parlour to R. Large fireplace to upper end of hall with chamfered timber lintel inscribed 1688. Inside the fireplace is a bakeoven to the R and a salt niche to the L. To the R of the fireplace is a timber doorway with triangular head leading to fireplace stairs with high deep treads, and also to an external doorway (now leading into a later range). The current staircase is C20, replacing a C19 staircase in the same position, adjacent to the front wall and partly obscuring the stained glass window which was brought from another house. To the E side of the hall is a post and panel screens partition with triangular headed doorway to the L, now infilled, inscribed 'Deum Time'. The screen is cut back at the R end removing the other doorway. The hall has a central cross-beam with cut stops, with a slot at the S end which probably held a partition. The parlour has a small fireplace with chamfered timber lintel and a cross-beam. The dairy wing to the N is now the kitchen. The attic is said to be 3-bay, with original tie and collar beam trusses, and to contain a flat ogee-headed doorway.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as a sub-medieval farmhouse retaining its plan-form and for the fine interior detail.

External Links

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.