Gelynis Farmhouse and attached cottage and stable

Gelynis Farmhouse and attached cottage and stable

A farmhouse with attached cottage and farm range, built of stone limewashed externally beneath a Welsh slate roof with brick or rendered end stacks and a main central ridge stack. The farmhouse is planned around a cross passage separating the kitchen to the east from the hall to the west, with end and centre chimneys and adjoining stairs. The cottage attaches to the kitchen at the east, and a stepped-back stable wing extends from the end.

The south elevation of the main house comprises eight bays and retains almost all of its original windows. These are predominantly 4-centred headed lights, mostly paired but some triple or single, with spandrels and square-headed hoodmoulds with a single horizontal glazing bar. From west to east, the first bay contains a two-light window to each floor. The second bay projects slightly and is topped with a small slate hood, with a 3-light window to each floor. The third bay has a single-light window on the first floor and a two-light window below. The fourth bay contains a small staircase window adjoining the centre fireplace. The fifth bay has the roof extending over a porch; the doorway has a four-centred head in a moulded square-headed surround with carved spandrels incorporating shields, with decayed jambs and stops and an old ledged door with cover strips, iron hinges and knocker. The sixth bay has a blocked single-light first-floor window and a blocked window below. The seventh bay retains a 2-light first-floor window and an inserted ground-floor casement window with brick dressings but preserves the hoodmould. The eighth bay has blocked windows at two levels serving an internal stone stair. The west bay of Gelynis Cottage has a doorway with brick dressings but with chamfered stone behind; the second bay has casement windows with brick dressings to each storey.

The north elevation of Gelynis Cottage features a cross-wing; in the gable end wall is a small blocked window with hood to the left, other later casements similar to the south side, and further blocked earlier features. Pigeon-holes appear at the north end of each side elevation. A later lean-to scullery wing is set against the west side elevation. Attached to the left (east) is the former stable wing with wide openings with brick dressings on each floor.

The rear elevation of the main house retains original 3-light and 2-light windows at first-floor level to the left and a small single light at the end of the cross passage. A later half-hipped roofed porch is adjacent to the left; an inserted ground-floor casement to the hall has a lean-to former dairy adjacent. Further pigeon-holes appear in the south-facing wall.

Interior

The cross passage separates the kitchen to the east from the hall to the west. The hall has a chimney backing onto the entry and an inner room beyond. The cross passage has an attached porch at the south and a window at the north, with the latter entry deflected to the northeast through a later porch which has boarded dado and settle. The hall wall fronting the passage is heavily battered. The hall contains a heavy chamfered cross beam with broach stops and retains its ceiling. A large open fireplace has moulded jambs and a replaced lintel; stairs beside it are straight, following a remodelling that provided a first-floor landing. A 3-light bay window with deep splays, identified by RCAHMW as formerly lighting a dais, is retained, with a second window by the stairs. Boarded dado, some doors, and an old cupboard in the north wall with wide boards are present; former shutters and a flag floor survive. A small inner room now serving as a kitchen, accessed up steps to the west, has a blocked fireplace with a smaller later version inserted.

In the former kitchen to the east, the original fireplace is blocked and replaced with a smaller later version; no stairs are present now but traces are visible. One chamfered cross beam remains, with a wooden floor and air gap below.

The upper chamber above the hall, the main bedroom, shares the same bay window as the hall with a smaller window adjacent. It features fine, probably late 17th-century panelling, incomplete, and off the room is a small balustraded recess believed to be for cheese storage. Along the rear passage into the northeast end room above the former kitchen, a further now-blocked passage gives access to the cottage; a chamfered and stopped beam is present.

The attached cottage is used for storage. An outer lean-to with boiler has covered the pigeon-holes in the south-facing wall. Two fireplaces are present in the north ground-floor room. The south room, accessed up two steps, gives access to former stairs of the east room of the main house which continue through two storeys and can be traced on the southeast elevation by two blocked staircase windows. An A-frame roof is believed to survive; the owner reports that the attic, though unlit, was formerly used as servants' quarters. Stone slates from the previous roof covering are visible.