Crughywel Y Dref Gymreig

-888

-Y Dref Gymreig traces the history

-of towns through their architecture.

-This programme

-is about Crickhowell...

-..between the Black Mountains

-and the Brecon Beacons.

-888

-888

-888

-We'll see a bridge, a castle,

-a gatehouse, a triangular square...

-..a medieval home

-which houses iconic furniture...

-..a Georgian mansion and a manor

-during our visit to Crickhowell.

-Our journey ends

-in the unique Televillage.

-Here we are, in Crickhowell.

-Yes and it's a lovely town.

-The town sits beneath Crug Hywel,

-the Iron Age fort.

-The town doesn't date back

-to the Iron Age, 2,000 years ago.

-The town dates back

-to the medieval period.

-There's a 13th-century castle here...

-..but our journey begins

-in a 15th-century building.

-Porth Mawr is a gatehouse.

-It does

-exactly what it says on the tin!

-Yes, it's obviously a gatehouse.

-Many Welsh people are familiar with

-the yellow gatehouse of Crickhowell.

-It's in the heart of the town

-and the A40 runs past it.

-This road has existed here

-since Roman times.

-The gatehouse was built circa 1480.

-Yes, it really is very old.

-It formed the divide

-between English and Welsh lordships.

-We're sitting on the best side -

-the Welsh side!

-Who lived in the house

-behind this fortified gatehouse?

-Two important families lived here.

-The Rumseys - the English family,

-and the Herberts - the Welsh family.

-Lord Herbert lived in Cwrt-y-Carw...

-..a house which was replaced

-by an elegant Regency house.

-That house

-was built in the early 19th century.

-Only the gatehouse remains

-from the original period.

-The architecture of the gatehouse

-was romanticized in the early 19th.

-Those are 19th-century gates.

-Having said that, 15th-century

-gatehouses are rare in Wales.

-It's great to see features

-such as that chimney...

-..which dates back

-to the 15th century.

-Most Welsh people

-had no chimney back then.

-We can fire cannonballs

-at the English from here!

-Not now, Aled!

-Not now, Aled!

-

-After tea, perhaps!

-Crickhowell was established...

-..to serve the agricultural

-community and local gentry.

-This medieval town...

-..underwent a transformation

-in Georgian times.

-Our journey through the old

-Crickhowell starts on the bridge...

-..with local conservation officer,

-Will Hughes.

-Was this bridge and the ability

-to cross the River Usk here...

-..part of the reason

-the town was built?

-Yes, it seems

-there was always a ford here.

-We know people lived here

-during the Stone Age...

-..and there was a stone bridge here

-during the reign of Henry VIII.

-This bridge was built in 1706

-and it was widened in 1810.

-Having crossed the bridge,

-we'd have to come up this road.

-Yes, the road up from the bridge

-to the castle gates.

-Most of the houses on this side of

-the road date back to Tudor times.

-This 17th-century house

-has a Georgian facade.

-Houses on this side are Georgian.

-This may be linked

-to land ownership.

-This is a remarkable example

-of a shop.

-It's amazing that this road

-is in such good condition.

-Yes, that's because the shops and

-main town centre moved up the hill.

-These houses were then downgraded

-and poorer people lived here.

-People who didn't have the means

-to make alterations to the houses.

-Thank goodness for that!

-Thank goodness for that!

-

-Yes, indeed.

-We're standing on the motte in what

-remains of Crickhowell Castle...

-..looking out over the whole town.

-Yes, what a great location

-to build a caste!

-The whole valley

-can be viewed from here.

-The Normans built this

-motte and bailey castle...

-..and Owain Glyndwr demolished it.

-No-one has lived here

-since the days of Owain Glyndwr.

-Let's go and see a house which has

-strong links with this castle.

-This is the most extraordinary house

-on Crickhowell High Street.

-Yes,

-it's the most interesting house too.

-There are plenty of Victorian

-and Georgian houses on this street.

-This house dates back

-to at least the 17th century.

-Has this always been one room?

-It's hard to tell but I think

-we're talking about two houses here.

-It was a shop for a while,

-as the front suggests.

-The windows are delightful.

-There are two fireplaces here

-and the house has two staircases.

-It seem likely

-this was once a pair of houses.

-What is the aforementioned link

-between the castle and this house?

-The fireplaces.

-I think the stonework around

-the fireplaces came from the castle.

-The beams in this house

-date back to the 17th century.

-The stop chamfers suggest that.

-The stonework around the fireplaces

-is of the highest quality.

-They're also large fireplaces

-for a property of this size.

-We're very close to the castle

-and they may have borrowed them.

-The stonework on this side

-may have come from a castle doorway.

-They may have fitted

-the fireplaces...

-..when the house was rebuilt

-in the 17th century.

-This has survived for centuries

-and seen styles come and go...

-..but I love the fact it looks fine

-filled with contemporary furniture.

-Yes, it has a splendid

-collection of furniture.

-There's nothing here

-that reflects Tudor times.

-What you see here is the cream

-of 20th and 21st century design.

-The contrast...

-..between contemporary and original

-features works particularly well.

-This ultra-modern extension at

-the back of the house surprised me.

-It was built during the 1960s.

-The kitchen was recently refitted

-and I'm very fond of this design.

-I prefer to see a contemporary

-kitchen such as this...

-..rather than

-a Victorian reproduction kitchen.

-The viewers think of us as stuffy

-dinosaurs who only like old houses!

-Well, they think you're a dinosaur!

-This works well with the old house.

-Yes, I agree.

-From here, you can see

-the 900-year-old Norman motte.

-You can also see a Victorian brick

-nail factory in the garden.

-We're in the 1960s extension

-added to a 17th century house.

-.

-888

-888

-

-888

-The square and High Street

-are well-known sights...

-..to those

-who drive through Crickhowell.

-When was this square built?

-It dates back to medieval times.

-It's interesting you call it

-a square because it's triangular!

-Every market in market towns

-within the old Lordship of Brecon...

-..is triangular.

-Bernard de Neufmarche grew up

-in a town with a triangular market.

-He was the Norman

-who established that Lordship.

-Let's look at some of the buildings.

-That's Market Hall.

-Yes, it was designed

-by Henry Wyatt in 1834.

-It replaced the original

-timber market hall...

-..which stood right here,

-next to this memorial.

-We've crossed the river Usk,

-so we're officially in Llangattock.

-The building behind us

-is Llangattock Court.

-Yes - Llangattock and Crickhowell

-started out as one parish.

-This mansion was built circa 1700.

-The owners had enough money to build

-a huge mansion such as this...

-..but the original house,

-a Tudor farmhouse, is still here.

-Most wealthy people

-demolished old buildings...

-..and replaced them with new ones.

-Here, they kept the old,

-primitive farmhouse...

-..which stands

-next to this splendid mansion.

-The front door is really fancy.

-Yes, as is the William and Mary hood

-above the front door.

-It's a simple design.

-You sometimes see William and Mary

-hoods...

-..plastered with clamshell shapes.

-This one is simple.

-The owners had the means

-to build a huge, luxurious mansion...

-..but details such as

-the stone tile roof are vernacular.

-There are no trendy bricks here

-but instead, there's local stone.

-It's a combination of the vernacular

-and of London trends.

-Here in the wide hallway,

-the original staircase has gone...

-..replaced by a Georgian example.

-The old staircase may have been

-refitted as the servants' staircase.

-An early example of recycling!

-This is the drawing room.

-This room displays those features

-associated with 18th-century houses.

-Yes, what a magnificent room!

-I'm very fond of the panelling.

-These chestnut panels would have

-been very expensive in the 1700s.

-There's a lovely feel to this room.

-Warmth oozes from the wood.

-It's the type of room in which

-I'd love to spend the whole winter.

-The fireplace looks Georgian to me.

-It isn't original to the house,

-is it?

-No, it's a classic,

-mid-18th century design.

-From the outside, I thought the

-windows were early 19th century...

-..but looking at them from in here,

-I'd say they're mid-18th century.

-It seems the owner

-remodelled this house...

-..fifty years after it was built.

-We've crossed the mountain

-from Crickhowell to Llangenny.

-It's almost a secret valley!

-Yes, I'm very fond of this area.

-It's packed

-with 16th and 17th-century houses.

-Before us we see Ty Llangenny.

-It's a 17th-century manor house

-with a collection of outbuildings...

-..which have all been converted.

-We're here

-to see the manor house itself.

-This house is remarkably old,

-as we've already said.

-Some renovation work

-has been carried out to it.

-Yes, this house was renovated

-five years ago.

-Personally, I feel these walls

-should be limewashed...

-..but it looks very original.

-This is a lovely oak door.

-It appears ancient

-but it's only five years old.

-If the correct material is used,

-it weathers and looks natural.

-This door fits in perfectly

-with the house.

-We're talking about a time

-soon after the death of Elizabeth I.

-In that context,

-are those windows remarkably large?

-Yes, they're massive!

-The Rumseys used those windows

-to show off!

-Dark colours were traditional

-for the internal walls.

-Light wasn't important to people

-back then.

-They fitted huge windows here

-as a mark of the family's wealth.

-This red sandstone is a common sight

-in this part of the world.

-Yes, it probably had a sandstone

-tile roof in pre-Victorian times.

-That was traditional to this area.

-It must have been really heavy.

-It must have been really heavy.

-

-Yes, indeed.

-Sian Pilling and her family moved

-to Ty Llangenny two years ago...

-..after the renovation

-had been done.

-What do you like about this house?

-What do you like about this house?

-

-It's a wonderful house.

-It's a large house

-but it's also very comfortable.

-It's a cosy home.

-It's spacious.

-The renovation was done

-to such a high standard...

-..there wasn't any work left to do

-when we moved in.

-It seems to me this is

-the practical side of the house.

-The kitchen and the lounge are here.

-Yes, it's far more contemporary

-than other parts of the house.

-It's very light.

-We come here during the day.

-We retire to the other room at night

-when we want peace and quiet.

-It's really homely.

-Ty Llangenny was ahead of its time.

-Rather than a staircase

-curling above the inglenook...

-..it has a stair tower.

-Some parts are original

-and some have been renovated.

-We're standing

-in what was the original house.

-Tell me about the floor plan.

-Tell me about the floor plan.

-

-It's quite complicated.

-It looks like

-a hall house floor plan.

-One main room and two rooms

-behind the dais partition.

-That's the classic design.

-The extension has turned this

-into an L-shaped house...

-..with a few smaller extensions

-to this side too.

-It's been extended and developed

-over the centuries.

-A large family may have lived here,

-at one point.

-One part of the family

-may have lived here...

-..with a grandmother

-or extended family living over there.

-Isn't there any evidence

-of this being a hall house?

-No, I doubt it was ever a hall house

-but it follows a similar floor plan.

-This is a modern house, of its time.

-It's a fashionable house.

-It had ceilings, floors,

-fireplaces and large windows.

-The floor plan is just an echo

-of what people had prior to this.

-Surrounded by these comfy chairs,

-it's easy to forget...

-..this was once a kitchen.

-People would hang meat

-from these hooks.

-Yes, they're a great shape.

-There are notches

-for a bread cage...

-..in the ceiling

-in front of the main fire.

-A cage was hung there, keeping food

-safe and away from the rats.

-It was also dry up there.

-Our journey

-through the Crickhowell area ends...

-..in the Televillage.

-New homes were built

-on the site of an old farmhouse...

-..and outbuildings

-were converted into offices.

-It allowed people

-to live and work here.

-The idea wasn't a total success.

-The offices are now empty,

-awaiting further development.

-What part did you play

-in getting this development built?

-I helped the developers

-give this place a vernacular taste.

-The National Park wanted it

-to reflect its surroundings.

-We used similar materials

-to those used in local buildings.

-Sandstone and oak were important.

-Local craftsmen were very involved.

-The window frames are local oak,

-the slabs are local stone...

-..and the lamps are local pottery.

-The aim was

-for it to be sustainable.

-There aren't any cars here.

-No - that was intentional.

-We provided a quiet, safe footpath.

-Cars are parked

-at the rear of the development.

-That keeps the centre quiet.

-People can walk to town

-without using their cars.

-This development is interesting.

-It could be the way forward

-for many small towns...

-..struggling

-to justify their existence.

-I'm fond of this place,

-especially as cars are excluded.

-People and their homes

-are all-important.

-These narrow paths

-create a community.

-They're the key to its success.

-It reminds me of Portmeirion.

-Unlike Portmeirion,

-people can actually reside here.

-These are no mock Tudor homes.

-The windows are double glazed

-and very modern...

-..with frames made of local oak.

-The fusion of old tradition and

-modern design makes this place work.

-The architecture is closely linked

-to the area and its people.

-S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones

-.