History
The house is traditionally said to be the property of Owain Llawgoch, brother of Llewelyn, who died in c1330. The present building was originally built as a large farmhouse in the early C16, aligned uphill, with an E-W wing, refronted in the early C18, and probably altered again in the C19. It was held together with Rhiwaedog, near Bala, by Sir John Lloyd, knighted in 1636, probably the same man as John Lloyd, sheriff of the county, in 1616, and who died in 1646. Rhiwaedog was acquired in a marriage settlement. In 1696 it was held by another John Lloyd. In 1851 census returns the owner was Edward Edwards, farming 713 acres (288.6ha). After the success of slate quarrying nearby the house became associated with this activity; in 1871 it was occupied by David Williams of the slate quarry, but in 1881 by John Edwards, a wood ranger. The house is also known for its association with a number of minor bards, amongst them Edward Urien, Rhys Cain, Huw Machno, Robert Dyfi and Sion Llwyd y Cyntaf. To the right of the main S front, there was a complex adjoining structure, demolished c1975, known as Y Fferm. This was, from the mid C19 at least, a separate dwelling. It had one ovolo moulded window in the gable, and the sill of another now incorporated in the garden wall, with stoolings for mullions. The Plas is noted for being roofed in slate in the early C16, thus constitutes one of the earliest recorded instances of the use of this material. The slates, of which one in the garden is possibly an original one, measuring c56cm x 100cm was probably derived from Hen Gloddfa, later part of Aberllefenni Quarry.
To the rear, a detached range of farm cottages now only surviving in foundations.