Pontyspig Farmhouse

Pontyspig Farmhouse is a group value building dating from the 17th century, with substantial alterations in the early to mid 19th century. The farmhouse is constructed of rough grey pennant rubble with dressed quoins, and originally had stone tile roofs, though the main entrance elevation roof was replaced with Welsh slate during an upgrading of the front in the 1830s to 1840s. At some point, the stonework was probably plastered and limewashed, with only fragments of this remaining.

The farmhouse is two storeys and has attics, originally planned with three rooms arranged around a crosspassage entry, a type B farmhouse layout with the main stack backing onto the passage. The south west (entrance) elevation has a Regency character due to the replacement of windows and roofing during the 1830s and 1840s. It features three windows, with 8 over 8 sash windows, except for a casement window on the ground floor left-hand side, and three sashes with horns. A plank door is set within a gabled slated porch supported on raking struts. Two dormers have zinc cheeks and sloping slated tops. The gable end and central stacks are rebuilt in Victorian red brick. A single-storey lean-to is attached to the left gable, with evidence of two blocked windows above, mirrored on the right gable.

The rear elevation largely retains its 17th-century character, except for a lean-to dairy with a 20th-century window that obscures the bay to the right of the stair gable. There are two windows on each floor to the left of the stair, and one on each half landing of the staircase. These are 3-light oak mullioned windows; some are partially blocked, with one complete internally, suggesting they were originally all complete. The mullions are ovolo moulded and have drips above.

Internally, the rooms reflect the early to mid 19th-century upgrades. The hall/living room contains a plain fire surround and an iron range; the ceiling beams are plastered over. The partition between the hall and the inner room is plastered and may retain an oak post and panel screen, although the doorways are later. The kitchen has a Victorian character, with a timber lintel above the fireplace and a brick bread oven to the left. The dairy has a rough lean-to roof. The cross passage was blocked by the construction of the stair tower, with the staircase entrance located to the right of the fireplace, possibly replacing a previous firestair. The staircase is constructed around a square central pier and rises in short flights, continuing in stone to the attic. The half-landing windows have ovolo mullions with a broad fillet. Bedrooms have plastered ceilings and plain 19th-century fireplaces. The front elevation's sash windows have shutters. The attic was never plastered, and features principal rafter trusses with two tiers of staggered purlins over the kitchen and trenched purlins over the rest of the house, with ridge pieces. Both roof sections have some smoke blackening, although not all the timbers are affected; particularly, the principal trusses are unblackened, as are some of the purlins and secondary rafters.