Hafotty

Hafotty

Medieval 3-unit hall house built to an H-shaped plan with 2 storeys and a semi-basement at the south-west corner. The building is constructed of rubble masonry with large stones used as quoins and is limewashed. It has a modern slate roof with stone copings raised as shallow gable parapets. Two advanced stacks are present: one along the west lateral wall of the west (solar) wing, and another to the rear of the central hall with a diagonally set shaft. Both stacks are shouldered and raised by tall dressed stone shafts with capping.

The entrance is to the left of the north wall of the central hall and features an original 2-centred arch with chamfered jambs. To the right is a replica window of 3 round-headed lights with hood mould. Directly opposite the entrance is a similar doorway, positioned to the east of the advanced 16th-century stack.

The east (solar) wing has replacement 4-paned sash windows along the east lateral wall, with two first-floor windows set under the eaves and a larger ground-floor window to the north. The rear gable wall has a paired round-headed light with hood mould at ground floor and a first-floor mullioned window of 2 lights.

The west (kitchen) wing formerly had an external flight of stone steps along the north gable. The ground floor has a wide window of 3 round-headed lights with hood mould, and the first floor has a similarly detailed timber replica. To the west is a small garderobe outlet and 4 projecting stones which probably supported a garderobe screen. Rectangular first and ground-floor lights are present in the east wall, and a single ground-floor 4-pane sash window is in the rear south gable. The west lateral wall has a slightly advanced rubble stack with flanking first and ground-floor rectangular lights with internal shutters. To the south is a modern pointed arched chamfered doorway to the semi-basement in the south-west corner, with a small opening to the right at the level of the internal cellar ceiling. To the left are 2 perpendicular breaks in the masonry which may mark the position of an original external stair and first-floor doorway.

The central hall was formerly divided by an inserted floor, which was removed during extensive late 20th-century restorations. 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 around 1500 and has a 4-centred Tudor arch in a square frame with a moulded label bearing beast stops. The spandrels have sunk traceried panels, and the architrave carries an inscription in early Renaissance lettering reading: SI DEVS NOBISCVM QVIS CONTRA NOS, with beast heads as stops. Above, in the hollow of the label, is the word AMEN. Over the fireplace is a reset and weathered stone shield with charges that are almost indecipherable but probably show Quarterly argent and gules, in the 2nd and 3rd quarters a fret or, over all a bend azure. Two brick ovens are set in the inner west wall of the fireplace.

At the east end, the partition wall has 3 pointed arched doorways leading into the east (solar) wing. A later cut doorway at first-floor level, offset to the left of the middle door, has been blocked. The ground floor is now split into 2 rooms: that to the north has a modern staircase up to first floor, while that to the south retains an original cross beam and the east window has moulded jambs. The first floor is raised by a step to the south end; one east window has moulded jambs and there is a small brick hearth in the north wall.

The east (buttery) wing has a pointed arched doorway to the south, a blocked doorway, and offset to the right of the arched doorway is a later cut first-floor doorway which has been left unblocked. A modern staircase leads down to the cellar, which is cut into the underlying bedrock, and up to a single first-floor room which retains 3 17th-century arched braced pegged collared trusses, one of which sits on a large corbel over the massive stone bressumer of the first-floor fireplace.