Cae Canol Mawr

Cae Canol Mawr is a largely 17th-century farmhouse, with a later 19th-century addition. The house is constructed of rubble stone, laid on a boulder plinth, and has slate-coped rubble gable parapets. The roof is slate, with an internal chimney stack on the upper gable (hall) end, featuring weather-coursing and a plain capping. A stack has been lost from the lower gable. The off-centre entrance is to the right and features a recessed modern door. To the left of the entrance is a 19th-century four-pane casement window, with a similar window above. To the right is a large six-pane casement window with a projecting lintel. An original window remains in the rear wall of the hall, featuring a hood mould; however, modern glazing is set forward of the original timber mullions, retaining the original mullions. Two modern windows are located beyond this, with one to the left (leading to a passage) having a concrete lintel, and the other being an original opening. Adjoining the house against its upper gable is a lower, stepped-back 19th-century range, likely originally agricultural, that has been altered with the addition of an external chimney. This range is of roughly squared rubble construction with a slate roof and has a central recessed boarded door with small, plain-glazed flanking windows. An outshut with a catslide roof extends to the rear.

The entrance leads into a cross-passage, which contains a close-studded timber-framed partition to the left. The original entrance to the unheated parlour at the front is preserved, with the cross-beam slightly chamfered to form the door head. A similar chamfer towards the rear likely marks the position of the original entrance into the smaller rear room, although the present doorway is a later insertion. Chamfered joists are visible on the passage ceiling, and on the ceilings of the two end rooms. The partition on the hall side of the cross-passage is damaged, but shows evidence of timber construction, including mortices in its upper rail. The hall is open to the roof and has an apparently original gable-end chimney. A fireplace features a timber bressumer with a slight, stopped chamfer. The roof truss over the hall has been altered; a stud has been removed below a high collar, and queen-posts or braces have apparently been taken from an intermediate collar. The existing tie-beam is not jointed into the principal rafters and struts, and is clearly a later addition. Two broad purlins are present, along with two tiers of cusped wind-braces, which are largely intact in the upper bay and partially in the central bay. Broad secondary rafters are also visible. There is conspicuous pegging on the hall roof truss and on the purlins of the end bay. A truss at the lower end of the hall was originally closed, as evidenced by mortices in the collar. The end bay has a single, plain wind-brace and lacks the conspicuous pegging found in the hall bay. A simple fireplace is located in the gable end of this bay.