Garn Fawr (or Upper Garn)

Garn Fawr (or Upper Garn) is a house, probably dating to the late 16th century, although it has undergone alterations in subsequent centuries. The house is constructed of roughly coursed and squared local red sandstone rubble, with a cement roughcast finish on the north and east elevations. Window dressings are limestone, and the roof is covered with Welsh slate, renewed since a 1952 survey. Stone stacks are prominent features.

The building has an L-shaped plan, with the foot of the ‘L’ projecting forward from the left side of the main elevation. The main range consists of a single depth, two-unit design, with a modern outshut along the rear wall. A single-depth cross-wing is attached. The house is two storeys high, with attics present, particularly in the wing. All windows on the main elevations have Bath stone surrounds and leaded lattice casements.

The front of the main range features an off-centre entrance door flanked by stone mullioned windows with arched heads, hollow chamfers, and hoodmoulds. Above these are matching windows. A gabled porch provides access, featuring a ‘Tudor’ four-centred arched entrance with a plank door and bargeboarded gable topped with a ball finial; carved decoration sits above the arch. The steeply pitched roof incorporates three large stacks positioned on the right gable, in the cross-passage position to the left of the porch, and laterally behind the ridge on the left. The right return gable has small windows to both floors, alongside a small modern lean-to.

The left wing has a three-light window on each floor facing north. The east-facing gable end features two windows, plus an additional two-light window in the attic, with a moulded stone finial. The south return has a two-light window on each floor, with a large external stack featuring two circular Victorian shafts. A 20th-century single-storey wing projects from this elevation, concealing further modern casement windows behind it.

The rear (west) elevation is largely obscured by a modern lean-to kitchen extension and conservatory. A modern three-light window is visible to the left, as well as a projecting stair turret adjacent to the cross-passage door and a large lateral stack to the right. The rear of the wing displays a small casement window to each floor, with the first floor window showing traces of an earlier dripmould.

The ground floor of the main range has been altered from its original layout, which originally likely included a parlour at the north end and a service area on the south. The three ground-floor rooms have large fireplaces with chamfered stone jambs and oak lintels, and a newel staircase is positioned beside a central staircase. A straight flight staircase wraps around a solid core within the wing. The southeast room on the first floor of the wing contains a Bath stone fireplace with a 19th-century plaster inscription reading 'A.N.D.N. 1581', known to have been in place by 1853. A doorway from the stair into this room exhibits a shaped head typical of the mid-17th century. The house also contains some imported early 17th-century panelling and painted plasterwork.