Upper Dyffryn House

Upper Dyffryn House is an early 17th century farmhouse. It is constructed of rubble stone with a slate roof and a tile ridge. The house is two storeys high with an attic.

The south-east front features a central two-storey porch, rendered in appearance. A 20th century 2-light wooden mullion window is set into the first floor of the porch, with a dripstone and stone sill. On the ground floor of the porch, there is a blocked ‘cyclopean’ doorway with an inserted 20th century window below, and a long dripstone. The main house windows have segmental arched stone voussoirs and wooden ovolo-moulded mullions. To the left of the porch on the front wall, there are 20th century 2-light mullion windows on both the ground and first floors. To the right of the porch, the wall is rendered and features a 17th century 2-light mullion window with stanchions, dripstone and stone sill on the first floor; on the ground floor, there is a 4-light mullion window with a 3+2+2+3+2 pane arrangement and a stone sill. The south-west gable has 17th century mullion windows with stanchions, set under broad segmental arches: a 3-light window serves the attic, and 5-light windows are found on both the first and ground floors, with centre opening casements. The north-east gable is also rendered and contains a 20th century 3-light mullion window in the attic, a 4-light window on the first floor with 2+2+2+2 pane casements, and a 5-light window on the ground floor with a 3+3+1+3+2 pane arrangement. The lower part of the north-east wall is obscured by a corrugated metal roof, but a lower section contains a 17th century cellar doorway and, to the right, a 3-light mullion window. The rear elevation incorporates an off-centre stair wing; the attic of the stair wing has a 2-light ovolo window with a dripstone, the first floor a blocked window, and the ground floor a 2-light ovolo window. To the right of the stair wing, a broad chimneystack rises above the eaves and is characterised by moulded caps with three tall flues set diagonally. A projecting single-storey kitchen wing with a hipped roof is located on the ground floor to the right of the stair wing.

The interior of the house is exceptionally fine, dating to the early 17th century. The entrance doorway features a flat head with half-round moulding framing a studded door with strap hinges and a drawbar. A stone-flagged cross passage extends to the right, partitioned by a post-and-panel partition with beaded planks and chamfers incorporating hollow and fillet (Wern-hir) stops. 19th century four-panel doors lead to the hall (left) and parlour (right). The hall retains well-preserved 17th century mullions with turnbuckle window catches and spiral handles. The parlour is divided by a 19th century boarded partition. Opposite the cross passage is a similar flat-headed doorway with roll moulding, leading to a back stair well. A 17th century quarter-turn stair ascends in short flights around a square boxed well. The first floor features a transverse post-and-panel partition. The two upper chambers are now divided by axial 19th century boarded partitions. Ceiling beams are chamfered with scroll stops. A window sill in the north-west chamber is inscribed 'MM 1760'. The four-bay attic provides habitable space, comprising two rooms divided by a 17th century plank partition, plastered on one side. The roof features trusses without collars; the feet of the principal rafters are tenoned into the tops of the ceiling beams below, with three tiers of trenched purlins.