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Coed-Weddus Farmhouse

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NPRN17230
Map ReferenceSN72NW
Grid ReferenceSN7439027760
Unitary (Local) AuthorityCarmarthenshire
Old CountyCarmarthenshire
CommunityLlangadog
Type Of SiteFARMHOUSE
PeriodPost Medieval
Description
Coed-weddus is an upland farmstead which retains a relatively unaltered late seventeenth or early eighteenth century stone-built, thatched, scarfed-cruck, one and a half-storey-storey farmhouse, situated down the slope from a three-unit long-house. There are adjacent detached early-nineteenth century farm buildings, similarly situated, now with new roof timbers and covered by corrugated-iron.

The farmhouse has a typical hearth-passage entry in the lower-unit alongside the back of the fireplace. The cross-passage space is defined by a wattle and lime partition with stair beyond a wide lobby all of the early-nineteenth century period. A doorway in the partition leads to the present parlour-room, which has an end fireplace, plaster ceiling and a 12-pane sash-window. The kitchen, or hall, is entered up a step on to a cobbled floor at the side of the hearth. This room has two transverse ceiling-beams, anearly-nineteenth century timber-frame to a splayed window opening at the front and a small splayed original timber window-frame, lighting the fireplace at rear. This window has a mortice for a central diamond mullion and glass rebates to locate former leaded lights. The large open fireplace has a chamfered and diagonal cut stop to its timber lintel and splayed sides with later brickwork to bread oven on left side. There is also a later brick cooking-oven to the right side with iron hinged doorway and a fireplace with iron grill to centre right. There are cross-timbers in the chimney, formerly used to support cooking utensils.

The ceiling-beams are roughly adzed to create a square section, as are the square-section rectangular joists. They are smoke-blackened. Along half the length of the upper ceiling-beam are a series of soffit peg holes and two rebates for central doorway posts, indicating the line of a former wattle partition, perhaps a small pantry within the upper end of this room. A later board-partition attached to a further ceiling-beam separates the kitchen, or hall, from the Dairy (the former parlour). There is a stone arched fireplace in the blocked end. This room has a slab-floor, and was formerly a parlour, but now has a series of slates on columns for use as a dairy. There is a window to the front with splay only on one side and later frame, as though widened. The ceiling hastwentieth century joists supported on boxed ceiling-beams at each end of the room.

The two pairs of scarfed-crucks supporting the roof are only in the kitchen and dairy unit's at the upper end. There is a later collar and tie-beam truss to the lower unit. Both parts are straw thatched. The scarf- joints are held by 3 soffit pegs and the crucks are held by pegged lap-collars and lap-yokes with clasped ridge-purlins. The 2 pairs of side-purlins are held by cleft-pegs and carry pole-rafters with diagonally woven wattle, which support an under-thatch of oak leaves and bracken. The scarfed-cruck bases are visible in the kitchen, seated on pad stones, about 20cm from the floor, while the scarfed joints are more visible in the dairy. The scarf-joints project externally at the rear, suggesting the wall has been re-built.

The later parlour lower unit has a central tie-beam and lap collar-truss, with lap at apex and halved oak poles flat to underside. The rafters are supported by 3 straight side-purlins held by cleft pegs and ridge with a bracken under-thatch. The tie-beam acts as a ceiling-beam and is boxed and plastered.

The Fist-floor/attic is reached by a dog-leg stair with plain hand-rail and board partition opposite the main entry. The attic is lit by a gable-end window at each end, the lower end having a similar sash window to the parlour below. Access from the lower to upper unit is through a low stone opening, which may be secondary.

The whole range is a unique survival of a house type probably once common in this area and now mostly destroyed or re-built beyond recognition.

Geoff Ward, RCAHMW, 1 September 2005.
Resources
DownloadTypeSourceDescription
application/pdfDSC - RCAHMW Digital Survey CollectionDigital text description of the farmstead from a RCAHMW digital survey of Coed-weddus, Llangadog, carried out by Geoff Ward, 01/09/2005, as part of the Tir Gofal project.
text/plainDSC - RCAHMW Digital Survey CollectionArchive coversheet from a RCAHMW digital survey of Coed-weddus, Llangadog, carried out by Geoff Ward, 01/09/2005, as part of the Tir Gofal project.
application/pdfRCAHMW Cottages of Wales Publication CollectionDigital measured drawing by Charles Green of the scarfed cruck-truss at Coedweddus, Llangadog, Carmarthenshire. Produced as part of the publication of 'The Welsh Cottage' by Eurwyn Williams, 2010.