Plas Uchaf ( en, Upper Hall) is a 15th-century cruck-and-aisle-truss

hall house The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples wer ...

, south-west of

Corwen Corwen is a town and community in the county of Denbighshire in Wales. Historically, Corwen is part of the county of Merionethshire. Corwen stands on the banks of the River Dee beneath the Berwyn mountains. The town is situated west of Llango ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and north of Cynwyd. Its excellent workmanship indicates a house originally of considerable importance; it has been described as "of palatial significance".

Construction

The house consists of a long rectangle divided by a cross passage. The west end is a large hall some high. The east end consists of smaller rooms on two floors. The roof structure is substantial, of paired

cruck A cruck or crook frame is a curved timber, one of a pair, which support the roof of a building, historically used in England and Wales. This type of timber framing consists of long, generally naturally curved, timber members that lean inwards and ...

beams with additional horizontal, vertical and diagonal bracing. One unusual feature is that the truss between the cross-passage and hall is an

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

truss, a form normally only found in much larger buildings such as barns and churches. This suggests the use of English craftsmen and is an indication of the status of the original inhabitants. The walls are of stone rubble but were originally

half-timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

Early history

The early history of the building is not documented. The original construction was thought to date from the late 14th or early 15th century, but part of the structure has been dated to 1435 by

tree-ring dating Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of chronological dating, dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the stud ...

. This is thought to be consistent with its use as the seat of the barons of Cymmer-yn-Edeirnion. In the 16th century the hall was divided horizontally by the addition of an inserted floor supported by moulded cross beams.

Decline and restoration

The house was listed as a house of the

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...

as late as 1707 but was later split into two or three labourers' cottages. The house was occupied until at least 1933. Plas Uchaf was

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

Grade I in 1952. However, by 1964 the building had been abandoned. The inserted floor and panelling had been removed, and the structure was falling into ruin. Peter Smith and Ffrangcon Lloyd drew attention to the building in 1964, and it was eventually taken on and restored by the

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation charity, founded in 1965 by Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then makes them available for holiday rental. The Trust's headqua ...

. The building is now maintained using income from its use as holiday accommodation.

References

{{reflist, 33em, refs= {{cite web , url=http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/our-landmarks/properties/plas-uchaf-10530#tabs=2 , title=Restoration , work=Plas Uchaf: Near Corwen, Denbighshire - Sleeps 4 , publisher = The Landmark Trust , year = 2013 , accessdate=2014-03-13 {{cite book , title=The Shell Book of The Home In Britain , last=Ayres , first=James , year=1981 , publisher=Faber & Faber , location=London , isbn=0-571-11625-6 , page=12 , quote=Despite its relatively small size this house was of palatial significance in relation to its time and place {{cite book , title=Transactions of the Ancient Monuments Society 1964 , volume=12 , first=L A S , last=Butler , chapter=Plas-Uchaf in Cymmer - A historical note , pages=112–113 , publisher=The Ancient Monuments Society , location=London , year=1965 {{cite web , url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/MER/Llangar/1871.html , work=GENUKI - UK & Ireland Genealogy , title=1871 census Llangar , accessdate=2010-08-11 {{cite web , url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/28689/details/PLAS+UCHAF%3B+PLAS+UCHA,+CYNWYD/ , title=Plas Uchaf; Plas Ucha, Cynwyd , work=Coflein , accessdate=2013-07-22 {{cite web , url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-663-plas-ucha-cynwyd , title=Plas Ucha, Cynwyd , work=British Listed Buildings , accessdate=2013-07-21 Cited by Smith/LLoyd as "Edward Llwyd, ''Parochilia'' (ed. R. H. Morris), II, p. 56" {{cite book , title=Arch Camb , year=1933 , chapter=Plas Ucha, Llangar, Merioneth , pages=81–87 , last=Monroe , first=L {{cite book , title=Transactions of the Ancient Monuments Society 1964 , volume=12 , first=Peter , last=Smith , first2=Ffrangcon , last2=Lloyd , chapter=Plas-Ucha, Llangar, Corwen , pages=97–112 , publisher=The Ancient Monuments Society , location=London , year=1965 {{cite book , title=Houses of the Welsh Countryside - A study in historical geography , first=Peter , last=Smith , edition=Second enlarged , chapter=Aisle-truss and hammer-beam roofed houses , pages=94–95 , publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office , location=London , year=1988

External links

Plas Uchaf
at the

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; cy, Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectura ...

Plas Uchaf at the Landmark Trust
Houses completed in the 15th century Grade I listed buildings in Denbighshire Landmark Trust properties in Wales Timber-framed houses in Wales Hall houses