History

Medieval hall house, formerly known as "Fotti Rhydderch" and once the home of Henry Norris, Constable of Beaumaris Castle in 1535. Built in C14, the hall fireplace and stack added in C16 and in C17 N and S gable walls of the E wing rebuilt, the W wing re-roofed and an external stone stair and doorway added at N end. The house has been extensively restored in late C20, the external stairs removed and the former windows replaced by timber replicas.

Exterior

Medieval 3-unit hall house, built to an H-shaped plan, 2 storeys with semi-basement at SW corner. Built of rubble masonry with large stones as quoins, limewashed. Modern slate roof with stone copings raised as shallow gable parapets. There are 2 advanced stacks, shouldered and raised by tall dressed stone shafts with capping; one is along the W lateral wall of the W (solar) wing, the other, to the rear of the central hall, has a diagonally set shaft.
The entrance is to L of the N wall of the central hall, an original 2-centred arch with chamfered jambs; to R is a replica window of 3 round-headed lights with hood mould. Directly opposite the entrance is a similar doorway, to E of the advanced C16 stack.
The E (solar) wing has replacement 4-paned sash windows along the E lateral wall, two 1st floor windows set under the eaves and a larger ground floor window to N. The rear gable wall has a paired round headed light with hood mould at ground floor and a 1st floor mullioned window of 2 lights.
The W (kitchen) wing formerly had an external flight of stone steps along the N gable, the ground floor has a wide window of 3 round-headed lights with hoodmould, the 1st floor has a similarly detailed timber replica. To R (W) is a small garderobe outlet and 4 projecting stones which probably supported a garderobe screen. There are rectangular 1st and ground floor lights in the E wall and a single ground floor 4-pane sash window in the rear (S) gable. The W lateral wall has a slightly advanced rubble stack with flanking 1st and ground floor rectangular lights with internal shutters; to R (S) there is a modern pointed arched chamfered doorway to the semi-basement in the SW corner, a small opening to R is at the level of the internal cellar ceiling; to L there are 2 perpendicular breaks in the masonry which may mark the position of an original external stair and 1st floor doorway.

Interior

The central hall formerly had a floor inserted (as recorded in RCAHM Inventory) this was removed during the extensive restorations in the late C20; now open to the roof, the hall retains some original timbers including the central segmentally arched truss with moulded soffit and carved boss. The fireplace was added c1500 and has a 4-centred Tudor arch in a square frame, with a moulded label with beast stops; the spandrels have sunk traceried panels and round the architrave is an inscription in early Renaissance lettering which reads: SI DEVS NOBISCVM QVIS CONTRA NOS, with beasts heads as stops. Above, in the hollow of the label is the word AMEN. Over the fireplace is a reset and weathered stone shield, its charges almost indecipherable, but probably Quarterly [argent and gules] in the 2nd and 3rd quarter a fret [or] over all a bend [azure] (Norris). There are 2 brick ovens in the inner W wall of the fireplace.
To the E end the partition wall has 3 pointed arched doorways leading into the E (solar) wing; a later cut doorway at 1st floor level, offset to L of the middle door, has been blocked. The ground floor is now split into 2 rooms, that to L (N) has a modern staircase up to 1st floor, that to R retains an original cross beam and the E window has moulded jambs. The 1st floor is raised by a step to the S end, one E window has moulded jambs and there is a small brick hearth in the N wall.
The E (buttery) wing has a pointed arched doorway to L (S), a blocked doorway to R and offset to R of the arched doorway is a later cut 1st floor doorway which has been left unblocked. A modern staircase leads down to the cellar, cut into the underlying bedrock, and up to a single 1st floor room which retains 3 C17 arched braced pegged collared trusses, one of which sits on a large corbel over the massive stone bressumer of the 1st floor fireplace.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as an exceptionally well-preserved Medieval hall house which retains a wealth of interior and exterior features including a remarkably well-detailed fireplace and original truss.

Scheduled Ancient Monument. Cadw Ref No.1/2451/AN097(ANG)G.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Hafoty at Wikipedia
• Hafoty official website
• Wikidata Q17741011

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)