22783

 

II  

Designated  

19/01/2000  

19/01/2000  

Great Pitton Farmhouse  

 

Swansea  

Rhossili  

Swansea  

Pitton  

242712  

187547  

 

200 m south of B4247, midway between Pitton Cross and Middleton.  

Agriculture and Subsistence  

 

The house is much modernised but has a C17 core with additions of c.1700, c.1840, and the mid C20. The early part is the central hall unit, with characteristic outshuts, one for a bed on the side towards the farmyard and one for stairs on the other side. The plan retains a cross passage at the rear of the main fireplace. A settle formerly existed beside this fireplace, and a small niche with shelf within the fireplace may have been for salt. An outer unit to the east (NE) was added c.1700; it has two floor beams with straight cut stops with fillets. A C19 crosswing was added to the north side. The house was recently much extended in tandem to the west (c.1960), including a return wing (with the present main entrance) to the front adjoining the barn range of the farmyard, and another return wing to the rear. In c.1780 Great Pitton was part of the estate of George Venables, 2nd Baron Vernon of Briton Ferry. In 1845 it is recorded as the tenancy of George Beynon in the estate of Sir Josiah Guest. The Beynon family were leading local methodists and their kitchen and barn were used for Wesleyan methodist meetings in the C18 and C19.  

The main range of the house extends north-east/south-west, with its north-east gable facing the road, the two units nearer the road constituting the older part. Rendered and white painted stonework; slate roof with tile ridge. Eaves on south-east side boxed in. Rendered chimney at east gable. Large buttress each side of a doorway in older part at north-west side between which a porch has been formed. The bed outshut on the front facing the farmyard is rendered and painted and has a large modern window and slate roof. Other windows in this elevation are timber casements from earlier renovations of the house, with rendered sills. A stairs outshut on the rear is now sandwiched between the C19 crosswing and the C20 extensions; it has a catslide roof in slate. Modern glazed door between the buttresses on the rear elevation, with small C19 casement window in storey above. The C19 rear crosswing has a 12-pane hornless sash window to the ground storey facing south-west and to the upper storey facing north-east; the ground storey window to the north-east is a 4- and 2-pane sash window.  

In the C17 hall unit at the centre of the house is a large chimney with plain chamfered bressummer; small salt-niche at left. Chamber floor joists of the later inner unit to north-east re-exposed.  

Listed notwithstanding later additions and alteration for its architectural interest as an early survival of the characteristic Gower type of plan incorporating a storeyed hall unit with stairs and bed outshuts, and for group value with adjacent listed farm buildings.