Cowsheds, Granary & Milking Parlour (Old Stables) at Bryn Mawr

The Cowsheds, Granary, and Milking Parlour, also known as the Old Stables, at Bryn Mawr date from the early 19th century. The barn features three bays positioned down a slope, with the lower end bays being storeyed. It is constructed of stone rubble on a plinth, with some dressed quoins and door jambs, and has slit ventilators throughout. The barn has a dentil eaves course and a slate roof. The central bay contains two opposing doors with part brick and part stone jambs, topped with distinctive depressed four-centred arch heads. There are also two pitching openings with cambered brick heads and plank shutters. The upper bay has a split-plank door under a cambered brick head, while the lower bay features a wide split-plank door under an inserted flat yellow brick head.

The cowsheds and granary form a right angle with the barn and are also early 19th century in origin, built from rubble stone with a dentil eaves course and slate roof. They have cambered brick heads above two ground floor doors, one of which features a depressed arch with some dressed stone jambs. A granary loft door is located under the eaves, accessed by brick and concrete steps. There is a gable window under a cambered brick head and a rear loft opening with later brick jambs. A rubble stone lean-to with a slate roof is present at the gable end.

The milking parlour, which adjoins the cowsheds, was built in the 19th century and is two storeys high, constructed of brick with a dentil eaves course and slate roof. It features diamond-shaped perforated brick ventilators, two split plank doors, a loft pitching door, and a loft window.

Inside the barn, the roof structure may have been renewed and features two shouldered king-post trusses with strut braces and a cambered tie-beam. The bay partitions include a central post and two diagonal braces. The central bay has a granary tile floor, while the lower bay has a brick floor.

The interior of the cowsheds and granary includes a king post roof truss made from re-used timbers. The cowshed ceiling incorporates a massive deep chamfered beam.