Blaensawdde

Blaensawdde is a house, likely dating to the 17th century, constructed of whitewashed rubble stone with slate roofs and roughcast stacks. It has a roughly cruciform plan, consisting of a main range with lower wings extending in three directions to the south. The north end of the main range features a large paired diagonal stack, while a square stack marks the south end. The south wing has a square rubble stone stack on its south end. The main range has two first-floor windows with 20th-century casement pairs, set beneath thin stone hoodmolds reminiscent of the 17th century. A slate-roofed, two-bay lean-to or pentice with whitewashed walls and a stone roof stands at the front of the main range, with a plank door in the right bay and a 12-pane window to its left. A projecting west wing extends to the right of the door, featuring a rebuilt 20th-century external stack and a narrow plan with a single first-floor window and a half-glazed door on its north front. A rear window is also present on this wing. To the south of the main chimney is a lower wing with a window to the west front and a window in the south end wall. An original window opening on the east side of this wing has been recently revealed. Behind the main house, a curved projection, likely the remnant of a former mural stair, is located in the southeast corner. An projecting east wing extends from this point, which is windowless on its south side but has a 20th-century window at the east end, along with a gable rebuilt in brick. A single side window is also present. A 12-pane window is located on the rear of the main range, alongside two blocked windows on both the ground and first floors and a blocked window next to the curved projection.

The house originally comprised two rooms in the main range, with the entrance hall formerly divided from the room to the north by a post-and-panel partition that has since been removed. A large north end fireplace incorporates stone stairs to the right. The south end chimney is open into the third main ground floor room in the south wing, suggesting this space may have been an earlier structure. The east and west wings appear to have been service wings. Modern stairs now face the entry, replacing a previous dog-leg staircase in the rear corner. A large chamfered ceiling beam with run-out stops is present. An ovolo-moulded timber doorcase provides access to the east wing. The north end room features an 18th-century fielded panelled door, an infilled fireplace, a clad beam, and a beam against the fireplace on corbels. The south end room is notable for its deep chimney with a heavy oak lintel, chamfered and with run-out stops; the right end of the lintel is covered over. On the first floor, an exposed woven hazel partition is visible near the stairs, alongside a fine post and panel partition with broad, scratch-moulded posts. Blocked doorways are located at both ends of this floor, alongside chamfered beams and a blocked window with a chamfered timber lintel and ogee stops. A fielded 2-panel door provides access to the rear wing, and a deep recess is located to the east of the south chimney wall. The roof structure consists of three oak collar trusses with double purlins, some of which have been replaced.