Site Record

Pen-Lan-Isaf, Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn is a late 18th/early 19th century, stone-built and slated `U' plan group of detached farm buildings, with the house above situated across the slope. The farm buildings consist of a cow-house range parallel to a barn/stable range, both situated down-the-slope, linked at the upper end, by an open-fronted cattle-shelter and feed-store. The house's external facade has stone-built end-chimneys and a central brick-built one.

The 1? storey farmhouse has a lateral entry and flanking enlarged windows (original sashes to first-floor), all off-set to the right to allow for the large kitchen/living-room fireplace (now altered). The entry leads into a hall with stairs framed by a tongue and grooved partition to the kitchen/living-room and post and panel to the parlour. A pantry with window is contained under the stair and there is a heated parlour to right end. The kitchen/living-room ceilings are joisted and a trimmer indicates the position of its former large fireplace chimney, probably of wickerwork. There are no ceiling-beams.
The in-line addition to the left gable-end, is a 2-storey, mid-C19th, stone-built structure with lateral entry, kitchen window and rear pantry with end window.

The 6-bay, barn/stable range consists of two bays of stabling with cobbled floors and lateral entries and mangers for four horses and a 1 1/2 bay loose-box for ponies. The areas are board partitioned, although the lower end partition has soffit mortises in the tie-beam for either tying cattle or a partition. The lower barn area of 2 1/2 bays has a widee double door entry and mid-19th century roof-trusses. The OS 25" map indicates a horse ginny was located to its east for driving threshing machinery.

The 5-door and 5-bay cow-house has traditional lap-jointed and pegged collar and truss apex and clay to top of wall indicating spars were used to hold a former thatch roof. The doorways with timber lintels are only on the east side, where there is an external cobbled pavement along its length. The roof principal rafters are curved , perhaps re-using scarfed crucks. The north end- truss with a lower floor has a lower tie-beam and an unusual post and rafter roof- truss. The other trusses may be similar, but are buried in the wall. These unusual earlier features suggest this building is less altered and dates from the late 18th century.

A detached open cattle-shelter and feed-store lies between the cow-house and barn/stable ranges across the top of the yard. The feed-store has blocked openings for a pig-sty in its north side and may have been raised up later with end doorway and loft to store. The open cattle-shelter roof has been modernised, although its rear wall is retained.

Site visited, G A Ward,16/09/03, through request at the Royal Welsh Agriculture Show,