Cregennen is a timber built, single storey summer lodge, situated below the south-western end of Pared y Cefn Hir, and overlooking the Cregennen lakes. It was erected towards the end of Victoria's reign, and does not appear to have had any formal boundaries. It is said to have been imported from Canada in 1897 as a prefabricated building and erected (or re-erected) at its present site. It was intended as a summer retreat for the Wynne- Jones family. Its last use was as a holiday let for the National Trust. It is now widely accepted that the structure is probably the last prefabricated timber building of its type in the country (N.T. Vernacular Building Survey, 1983).

Plas Cregennen was demolished in 1991 and the description below is written from notes made during the last few days of its existence.

The Structure - The structure is quite large for its type, overall 32m long x 12.5m wide including projections. It is single storey with a loft space approximately 7.5m from ground floor to apex. It is timber framed (possibly Pitch pine) with tongue and groove cladding both inside and out. Rather than having been put together from its constituent timbers it is likely that some of the large panels which appear to make up the structure were pre-fabricated elsewhere (perhaps in Canada as has been suggested). This is very evident from the roof structure where there is no boarding on the underside and it is possible to see the bolted-together panels. Of the walls themselves the outer covering is a large gauge board much of which has been replaced in many places by a narrower gauge weatherboarding of an inferior type. Internally all the rooms are panelled with a narrow tongue and groove boarding. The space between the boarding is probably lined on the outside with a fibre matting (as in similar structures of this date) - there was no other insulation noted. These outer walls were probably erected as open frames, bolted together and the external ind internal boarding then nailed on. This timber superstructure rests on a carefully built stone plinth. The floor joists are supported by either five or six (it was not possible to determine which) supporting walls running the length of the building. These walls were probably of stone also. There are five chimney stacks within the structure, four of stone and one at the SW of brick (the top of this was demolished and replaced by a flue pipe for gas "Rayburn" cooker in the kitchen sometime in the mid 1980's). The stone stacks are rectangular in plan and all of the same pattern with simple oversailing courses on the caps and lead flashing at the base. The whole exterior boarding is painted in green gloss. The roof is painted grey.

Plan - The interior has an interesting layout mirroring on one level the "upstairs/downstairs" layout of the typical Victorian country house. A long central passageway, lit by two large ceiling lights, leads from a vestibule at the north to a door at the southern end - all rooms lead off this. A large door in the passage divides the service part in the south from the living quarters at the north. The north end contains a large sitting room 5m x 11m with a fireplace, square bay with window seat and french doors leading to a covered verandah. There is an entrance hall and six other rooms in this part of the building. Four of these have fireplaces and are each ca 5.5m x 4m, there are two other smaller rooms without fireplaces. This northern part also has a bathroom, a separate WC and a further small room with a fireplace. The south end has most of the utility rooms. It contains one large room with fireplace 4.5m x 7.5m. This room was possibly once divided by some kind of temporary or folding screen into two as it has a pair of adjacent doors leading into it from the corridor. It also has a serving hatch into the kitchen sealed by a vertically sliding door counterbalanced by a weight. An exterior door leads from this room via some wooden steps to a narrow verandah overlooking the lake. As well as the kitchen, containing a modern Rayburn cooker, though almost certainly once having a range of similar function, there is a scullery on the other side of the central corridor with lead sink and drainers and fitted cupboards to each side, two small bedrooms and a bathroom and a separate WC. There are also three large fitted cupboards leading from the central passageway, one of which has a hinged ceiling hatch giving access to the loft. At the southern end of this passageway is a door leading to a flight of steps giving access down to a couple of utility stores (perhaps for coal and game) built at ground level. One of these rooms is ventilated by a pair of deep wall louvres - this was perhaps the game store. Between the rooms there was an outside door.

Fittings - All the windows are of a uniform type with wooden casements and shallow transoms. Above the transoms each light is divided into four small panes by wooden stragals, only on the north-west elevation do the windows have plain board architraves. Two of the windows have shutters possibly survivors, though there was no evidence that any of the other windows ever had them. The exterior doors vary from plain plank doors at the southern end to French Windows and a door with its upper half glazed with small panes and wooden astragals at the north end. The interior doors are all very similar - a standard four panelled type in pitch pine. The door dividing the central corridor is a wider six panelled version. The large fireplace in the sitting room is a simple brick affair with a round arch and inset rectangular hearth, all the other fireplaces are cast iron all of a similar pattern with slate surrounds and with wooden shelf and side pieces. There are a number of fitted cupboards, including two corner types evidently built at the time of erection of the main structure. The lead sink in the scullery, a plate rack in the kitchen over a shallow ceramic sink and all the bathroom fittings save for one of the Wc's appear to be original items. A kitchen has been recently created from one of the bedrooms in the north end with its own gas fire Rayburn cooker.

The Roof - This is covered by corrugated steel sheets held down by continuous iron rods. It has four roof lights set (two on each side) into it which light the loft and indirectly the central corridor. The two flat roof extensions at either side of the building at the n orth end are covered by neatly finished lead sheeting. Some of the barge-boards have decorative finials (good example being the north-east gable).

Plas Gregennen was a timber built, single storey summer lodge overlooking the Cregennen lakes. It was erected towards the end of Victoria's reign, and does not appear to have had any formal boundaries. It is said to have been imported from Canada in 1897 as a prefabricated building and erected (or re-erected) at its present site.

The structure was demolished in 1991.

Source: James Barfoot & John Latham. 1993. Short report on Plas Creggenen prior to demolition (unpublished).