27006

 

II  

Designated  

21/10/2002  

21/10/2002  

Farm buildings at Fronfraith Farm  

 

Ceredigion  

Faenor  

Aberystwyth  

Fronfraith  

261781  

281926  

 

Situated SW of Fronfraith Farmhouse, some 50m down former drive running S from lane to Capel Dewi.  

Agriculture and Subsistence  

 

Mid to later C19 estate farm buildings, including barn, lofted cartshed, stables, lofted coach-house, hay-barn and smaller buildings around a farm court. built for the Bonsall family of Fronfraith, a later C18 house built for Thomas Bonsall, entrepreneur in lead-mining. The house was situated further down the drive to the SW and was demolished in the later C20. the farm buildings are not marked on the 1838 tithe map.  

Farm-buildings, rubble stone with slate roofs. around farm court. N range of barn to E and lofted cart-shed to W has added late C19 open-bay hayshed on E end. N range has high-door barn to right with stone-voussoirs to cambered arched doorway. Three loops each side, two above, one central below, part masked by pigsties coming forward to right, and by corrugated iron lean-to to left with cast-iron columns. Lean-to extends in front of lofted section to left of barn with 3 casement-pair windows under eaves, and W end steps to loft door. N side has 3 broad elliptical-arched cart-entries with stone voussoirs to arches and similar loft windows above. Barn rear to left has C20 lean-to to right of tall barn door with 3 loops to left. Hay barn on E end is of 3 bays with square piers, stone high plinths and brick stepped bases to brick piers. Slate roof slightly lower than main range roof. Tie-beam truss to E gable. W range has slate roof with 3 ventilators and a chimney. E side to court has narrow windows under eaves and a door between 2 windows, with stone voussoirs, at right end. Various added lean-tos to left end. Rear W has yellow brick late C19 addition with parallel roof at left, then sequence of doors and windows with stone voussoirs, two doors alternated with 2 windows, then door between 2 windows. Further right, lofted section under same roof with 3 small square 9-pane tilting loft lights over a window and 2 elliptical-arched coach entries. Door between window an first coach-entry. Ledged double coach-house doors with strap hinges. Damaged brick S end lean-to and window in gable above. Minor single-storey S and E ranges, altered: plain S range, and single-storey E range with former open bays now infilled.  

Barn has C19 bolted collar trusses.  

Included as a well-preserved mid to later C19 estate farm group, principal survivor of an important gentry estate of the region, and good example of an improvement period planned farmstead.