Daren Uchaf Farmhouse

Daren Uchaf Farmhouse

This is a Grade II listed farmhouse of medieval origin, constructed of pink and grey local sandstone rubble with an artificial slate (plastic) roof. It is a one-storey building with attic space, planned as a rectangular single-depth three-unit block with cross passage entry.

The building shows clear evidence of its medieval origins on the right-hand end, which stands on a battered stone plinth. The left-hand end has been largely rebuilt and heightened since 1987, visible in the differing stonework. The ground floor contains three windows: a 2-light timber casement under an oak lintel to the left (fitted into what appears to have once been a doorway, with two beam ends projecting to support what was a porch); a 3-light window to the hall with a much wider dripmould; and a 2-light window with dripmould to the inner room. The windows with dripmoulds indicate 17th-century improvements, though the present windows differ in size from the originals. The entrance lies between the first and second windows, featuring a chamfered oak architrave and studded plank door, positioned under the same oak lintel as the left window. The upper floor has two 3-light half dormers with sloping heads. Both the hall stack and end gable stack are weathered for thatch. The left gable is modern; the right gable features an attic casement. The rear elevation is largely blind except at the modern end, where a rooflight has been inserted.

The interior is exceptionally remarkable. The entry gives onto a cross passage, which may never have had a rear door as the hillside immediately backs the house. To the left, there is no partition, and the kitchen is now modern apart from a chamfered ceiling beam with run-out stops; all upper sections here are new. To the right is the medieval hall, originally a single bay open to the roof. During the 17th century, a fireplace, staircase, and ceiling beams were introduced, creating the present room. The fireplace has been altered with a concrete lintel. The beams are chamfered with scroll stops; the underside of the floorboards is visible and has been packed up in recent times. The inner partition is unusually constructed of stone and contains two doorways, indicating two original unheated inner rooms. The present room features a ceiling beam with hollow chamfer and run-out stops, 19th-century joists, a modern fireplace, and bare stone walls. There is some evidence of a small window in the rear wall and a vertical recess in the front wall. A stone firestair leads to the upper floor of the hall, which retains very good wide oak floorboards from the 17th century.

A remarkable feature is the top of the stone partition wall, which rises to eaves height before transitioning into a timber-framed partition of heavy oak, comprising a wall plate, principals, and vertical studs. This has been broken through at the centre with a 17th-century oak plank door to provide access to the upper inner room. The centre of the room contains an arched braced collar truss with trenched purlin; the brace has slipped on the south wall where the pegs have broken, and both have been secured with iron straps. The inner room has a 19th-century floor, which is two steps down from the hall. The continuing timber work provides the primary features of interest. The roof space, accessible over both rooms, provides clear evidence that the hall was originally open to the roof and that the timber frame above the stone partition is original. The hall roof is heavily smoke-blackened, while the inner room roof is clearly not, confirming it was never part of the open hall. An additional point of interest is the apparent confirmation that the inner end was always storied and must therefore have had a ladder stair from the lower room until the 17th-century changes were made.