Llwyn-celyn Farmhouse,

Llanvihangel Crucorney Llanvihangel Crucorney () is a small village in the community (parish) of Crucorney, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located north of Abergavenny and southwest of Hereford, England on the A465 road. Setting Llanvihangel Crucorney lies on the ea ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

is a

farmhouse FarmHouse (FH) is a men's social fraternity founded at the University of Missouri on April 15, 1905. It became a national organization in 1921. Today FarmHouse has 34 active chapters in the United States and Canada.FarmHouse Fraternity New Memb ...

of late medieval origins. It is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The original farmhouse is a late-

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

hall house of c.1420. In the late 17th century, both the hall, and the attached

solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

block were horizontally divided to create two-storeyed buildings. An outhouse, with what was originally a free-standing kitchen, was linked to the main block in the 19th century, when the farm was part of the

Llanthony Priory Llanthony Priory () is a partly ruined former Augustinians, Augustinian priory in the secluded Vale of Ewyas, a steep-sided once-glaciated valley within the Black Mountains, Wales, Black Mountains area of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Mo ...

estate and owned by the poet

Walter Savage Landor Walter Savage Landor (30 January 177517 September 1864) was an English writer, poet, and activist. His best known works were the prose ''Imaginary Conversations,'' and the poem "Rose Aylmer," but the critical acclaim he received from contempora ...

. There were subsequently almost no alterations made to the building for over 100 years. By the early 21st century, the house was in a state of decay and, in 2014, ownership passed to the

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British architectural conservation, building conservation charitable organization, charity, founded in 1965 by John Smith (Conservative politician), Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or ...

. The Trust commenced a £4.5m restoration, which is largely complete as of November 2018.

Architecture and description

The architectural historian John Newman describes the farmhouse as "quite exceptional, a complete late medieval

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 ...

, all of stone." Sir Cyril Fox and

Lord Raglan Baron Raglan, of Raglan in the County of Monmouth, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 20 October 1852 for the military commander Lord FitzRoy Somerset, chiefly remembered as commander of the British troops ...

, in the first of their three-volume study ''

Monmouthshire Houses ''Monmouthshire Houses: A Study of Building Techniques and Smaller House-Plans in the Fifteenth to Seventeenth Centuries'' is a study of buildings within the county of Monmouthshire written by Sir Cyril Fox and Lord Raglan and published by the ...

'', give a construction date of c.1500, slightly later than that posited by Cadw and the Landmark Trust. The roofs of the, now two-storeyed, hall and parlour show evidence of smoke-blackening, indicating that they were "originally open full-height." Peter Smith, in his study ''Houses of the Welsh Countryside'', notes the innovatory treatment of the hall and cross-passage. The exterior is of

Old Red Sandstone Old Red Sandstone, abbreviated ORS, is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the eastern seaboard of North America. It ...

rubble.

Notes

References

* * * {{Cite book , last=Smith, first=Peter , author-link=Peter Smith (architectural historian) , title=Houses of the Welsh Countryside , url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/868639211 , year=1975 , publisher=

Her Majesty's Stationery Office The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the U ...

, location=London , isbn=0-11-700475-8 , oclc=868639211 Houses in Monmouthshire Grade I listed houses in Wales Grade I listed buildings in Monmouthshire Landmark Trust properties in Wales