21544

 

II  

Designated  

30/03/1999  

30/03/1999  

Garreg lwyd Cottage  

 

Gwynedd  

Dolbenmaen  

Dolbenmaen  

Garndolbenmaen  

249799  

344622  

 

The building stands back from the track to Garreg-llwyd, E of the road running due N from the N end of Garndolbenmaen.  

Domestic  

 

The encroachment into the open common mountain land N and E of Garndolbenmaen took place initially in the last decade of the C16, but general squatting increased in the late C18, some 40 or more dwellings had been built by 1810. Each separate dwelling had approximately 1-2 acres (0.405-0.809ha) of land for cultivation and the settlement became an important centre for Methodist and Baptist evangelism. In 1814, to regularise the situation, an auction of squatter tenancies took place, with a second sale in 1819. The settlement was largely established by the Tithe apportionment and map of 1838. Garreg-llwyd dates probably from the C18 and is a largely unaltered example of the traditional smaller dwelling of the encroachment.  

Built of locally obtained rubble stone, with a slate roof probably replacing heather thatch between stone-coped gables. Single storey, 2-room house with end stone stacks with projecting weather courses. The attached 2-bay cowhouse at the W end, is of one build with the house. Boarded door and 4-pane sash windows. The W section of the house has a widened bay at the rear, probably for a kitchen. An attached outbuilding for farm purposes at the rear of the cowhouse, which has a single door and is otherwise windowless.  

The interior of the house was not accessible at the time of inspection. The cowhouse has a central truss with principals springing from the walls and lapped collar, carrying 2 tiers of purlins. Four stalls against the gable end for cattle.  

Garreg-llwyd is a good and largely unaltered example of the traditional smaller dwelling typical of encroachment development, of which very few remain unaltered.