Argoed Farmhouse

Argoed Farmhouse is a unit system farmstead group dating back to the 17th century, with extensions and additions from the 19th century. The group comprises an original 17th-century farmhouse, a 4-bay threshing barn built in alignment to the north, and a 19th-century farmhouse linked to the west by a storeyed vestibule. The buildings are constructed of random rubble masonry, with the front of the 17th-century farmhouse limewashed. The 17th-century house and attached barn have roofs covered in small slates, with rough stone copings at the south gable of the barn. The front wall of the old house was rebuilt in the late 20th century, and the house re-roofed; the rear pitch of the 17th-century house now has a modern slate roof with a rooflight. A rendered rectangular stack stands at the south gable, and a tall square stack is located at the northeast corner, both with stone capping.

The 17th-century farmhouse is a two-story building. Its front doorway is offset to the right (north) side, with one window to the right and two to the left. The upper story has three gable dormers offset to the left (south). The windows are timber casements with slate sills.

The 4-bay threshing barn is aligned to the north of the original farmhouse. Its doorways are offset to the right (north) end, and there are two narrow ventilation slits to the left (south) and one to the right. The northernmost ventilation slit in the rear elevation has been blocked. A pitching hole is set in the north gable apex, and a raking dormer breaks the eaves to the right of the rear doorway.

The 19th-century farmhouse is also built of random rubble masonry, with larger stones used as quoins and lintels. The roof was re-slated in the 20th century and now has rooflights in the front (west) pitch. The rectangular gable stacks are rendered with a heavy grit finish. Situated at a slightly elevated position parallel to the original house, the 19th-century block faces west, with a three-window range, a central doorway, and modern top-hung casement windows with slate sills. The central first-floor window has been partially blocked to create a smaller window.

The interior of the 17th-century house retains original timbers, including pegged collared trusses and large paired purlins. The ground floor retains some original cross beams with lambs tongue stops to soffit chamfers. A massive chamfered bressumer is present in the inglenook, which contains a brick oven in the corner. The cross passage retains post and panel partitioning. The barn’s roof structure features a 4-bay configuration with angle struts above the tie beams. The interior of the 19th-century house was not inspected during the survey.