22899

 

II*  

Designated  

29/05/1968  

21/07/2000  

Ty Mawr  

 

Gwynedd  

Llanllyfni  

Caernarfon  

Nantlle  

250860  

353344  

 

Located at the western end of Nantlle near the eastern entrance to the Dorothea Slate Quarry.  

Domestic  

 

Built in the early C16, Ty Mawr is the earliest surviving and most substantial domestic building in the community: additions and alterations made in C18 and C19. Its fine arch-braced roof is similar to that in the Church of St Rhedyw, Llanllyfni, raising the possibility that they were constructed by the same carpenters.  

Roughly coursed rubblestone on boulder plinth, rendered to gable ends with slate stone and brick additions; slate roofs with slate-coped verges to main range. Original house of rectangular 2-room and through-passage plan (present main range) with lower C18 range at right-angles to rear forming T-shape; various Cl9 outbuildings attached make up small service courtyard. Front (west) elevation has 2 widely spaced Cl9 casements in earlier stone surrounds to first floor above full-length glass verandah supported by stone end walls and a cast-iron column to the left with glazed bay forming porch over original entrance to right of centre. This has a round-headed doorway with chamfered jambs and broached stops under a stone label; to the left are C19 3-light and 2-light multi-paned horizontal sliding sashes with another C19 2-light multi-paned horizontal sash window to the right, all with slate cills and drips. Porch has pair of half-glazed doors with margin lights to left return. Roof has 2 C19 gabled dormers to centre and rebuilt internal end stacks. Right gable end has projecting stone garderobe to left of stack on first floor and small 2-light horizontal sliding sash to right on ground floor. Rear has similar doorway corresponding to that on front but without a label and a horizontal sliding sash window set in a wide opening with a projecting slate lintel as drip on the ground floor; large C19 3-light mullioned and transomed timber window on the first floor immediately to right of lower projecting range which has a 3-light eaves window to north side and integral end stack.  

The ground floor probably originally comprised a large room to the north (left) of the passage-way and 2 smaller rooms to the south. This arrangement is still discernible, the north room having a large infilled fireplace and plastered beams. The main beam to the south of the slate-floored passage is chamfered and has peg-holes for a timber partition; the joists to the passage are chamfered with concave stops while those to the 2 south rooms are roughly chamfered. Stone staircase with slate treads in north-east corner with blocked window to east. The first floor, which was originally open to the roof, has a chamfered beam and chamfered and stopped joists to the north room, straight flight staircase to the centre and a slate stair to the south-east corner, both C19 and leading to the inserted attic. This contains the principal feature of the house, the 4-bay arch-braced early C16 roof. 3 trusses, the outer ones built into the wall-tops with cusped struts above the collars forming quatrefoils; the centre truss with straight principals and collar, again with struts above to form quatrefoil (the principals are cusped above the collar). Below the collar are the wide studs of a former plank and muntin screen which originally extended down to the first floor. C19 double purlins occupy original positions on backs of principals. C19 fireplace on south wall.  

Graded II* as a significant local gentry house of the early C16, the earliest and most substantial domestic building in the community, retaining good evidence of its original plan-form and several notable features, including the fine early C16 arch-braced roof structure.