Tai Eryri Cartrefi Cefn Gwlad Cymru

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-Welcome to the most rugged

-landscape in Wales...

-..and the rugged houses

-which seem to grow from it.

-The hall houses

-described in the first programme...

-..were common throughout Wales,

-from Anglesey to Monmouth.

-In the 16th and 17th centuries,

-housing culture changed...

-..and regional variations emerged,

-as storeyed houses were built.

-It could be argued the first type

-of storeyed houses built in Wales...

-..were erected here in Snowdonia.

-So much so, it is still known

-as the Snowdonian house.

-It's important not to confuse

-the Snowdonian house type...

-..with the thousands of central

-stair houses which developed later.

-The exteriors were similar but

-they were fundamentally different.

-Compared

-with cottages and longhouses...

-..the Snowdonian house design

-is less familiar to the Welsh.

-The Snowdonian house

-is a well-kept architectural secret.

-In this programme, we'll trace

-the origins and development...

-..of the Snowdonian house.

-Peter Smith wrote the book

-Houses Of The Welsh Countryside...

-..for the Royal Commission.

-He was the first historian to define

-and summarize the Snowdonian house.

-His book inspired our journey...

-..which starts at Gwydir Castle,

-Llanrwst.

-This isn't a Snowdonian house...

-..so why am I here

-at the start of this programme?

-This house set the foundation

-for that pattern of building.

-It had a huge influence

-on this area...

-..because the Wynn family

-lived here.

-It was an influential

-and affluent family.

-They owned most of Snowdonia.

-Their tenants were

-familiar with this house...

-..and may well have

-aspired to such a home.

-Gwydir Castle was the template...

-..with which wealthy farmers

-started to build Snowdonian houses.

-The Wynns of Gwydir...

-..claimed to be descendants

-of the Princes of Gwynedd...

-..through Rhodri ap Owain Gwynedd.

-In the 16th century...

-..everyone in North Wales would have

-been aware of the powerful Wynns.

-Sir John Wynn, who was born in 1553,

-famously founded a school here.

-Bishop William Morgan

-was educated at the school.

-The main building dates back

-to the start of the 16th century.

-The porch at the front

-of the house was a later addition.

-It's Gwydir was truly revolutionary

-when it was built.

-This was a time when people

-lived in a single-roomed house...

-..with a fire

-in the centre of the floor...

-..the smoke from which drifted out

-through a hole in the roof.

-This was a three-storey,

-three-chimney house...

-..which symbolized

-the owners' wealth.

-Gwydir also has three fireplaces.

-The windows are now far larger

-than they were originally...

-..and that's a new staircase.

-It wasn't a real castle...

-..but, as the sturdy structure

-suggests, it was a stronghold.

-Gwydir formed a prototype

-for the new type of house...

-..which was being built

-by wealthy farmers.

-It has chimneys on the gables,

-stairs around the fireplace...

-..and unit system developments...

-..where wings are added

-to the main house.

-These elements are essential to the

-development of Snowdonian houses.

-If this was the seed,

-what grew from it?

-Ironically, the first Snowdonian

-house we'll see in this programme...

-..stands in Cardiff,

-some 200 miles south of Snowdonia.

-Y Garreg Fawr was originally erected

-in Waunfawr in 1544.

-It was re-erected here, at the

-National History Museum, in 1984...

-..440 years later.

-What are the external features

-of the Snowdonian house?

-This is a classic example

-of a Snowdonian house.

-They're solid houses and are,

-without exception, stone houses.

-Stone was freely available

-in Snowdonia...

-..but the hall houses built here

-were timber-framed.

-It was a total change of style which

-was adopted in the 16th century.

-This is an early example

-of a Snowdonian house...

-..and all Snowdonian houses

-have a solid structure, like this.

-Y Garreg Fawr has very tall chimneys

-which were status symbols.

-Having a TV aerial on your roof

-in the 1950s was a sign of wealth...

-..and it was just the same

-in the 16th century.

-Similarly, a tall chimney was for

-someone with elevated social status.

-What else is remarkable

-about the chimneys?

-They're angled against the ridge

-of the roof, for decoration.

-This was also a sign of wealth,

-as it was expensive to build.

-That's no surprise when I tell you

-this house was commissioned...

-..by Sir John Wynn of Gwydir.

-It was a house on his estate.

-The tenant happened to be

-one of his brother's friends.

-He must have been one of the

-wealthiest tenants in the parish.

-It's generally true to say that

-only the best houses have survived.

-By 1560,

-Gruffydd ap Hywel ap Robert...

-..paid an annual rent

-of 40 shillings.

-Gruffydd would have been able

-to farm Welsh Black cattle...

-..driving to market in southern

-England along the drovers' roads.

-Y Garreg Fawr looked very different

-in its original setting in Waunfawr.

-It had been converted into a barn.

-When it was re-ereceted

-in St Fagans...

-..it was restored to its

-original form as a Snowdonian house.

-What Snowdonian features

-are there inside the house?

-We're standing between two doors

-which create a cross-passage.

-This was the main room,

-traditionally called the hall...

-..even though this wasn't

-a hall house of course.

-Farmers continued to use the term

-"hall" for the main living room.

-Household chores were carried out

-in here, including the cooking.

-There are two small rooms behind us

-which was the norm.

-One was a dairy...

-..and the other was a cold parlour.

-Above our heads are the bed,

-living and storage chambers.

-The two floors were separate for the

-first time in Snowdonian houses.

-They were built this way.

-Yes, they were designed

-as two-storey houses.

-Many old hall houses

-were modified...

-..but this 1544 house is one of the

-oldest surviving Snowdonian houses.

-How would people have lived

-in these houses?

-There's a lot of furniture in here.

-Yes, some of which is familiar to us

-such as the dining table and chairs.

-The two-piece cupboard

-has the date 1605 carved into it.

-There are also storage chests,

-chairs and stools here.

-The features usually associated

-with a traditional farmhouse...

-..such as a dresser and corner

-cupboard hadn't been invented.

-This is fairly primitive furniture.

-Chores would be done here, as this

-is the only ground floor fireplace.

-All the cooking would be done here.

-The fire would burn day and night,

-throughout the year.

-It was a work room

-and a living room.

-Y Garreg Fawr was built in 1540,

-making it an early Snowdonian house.

-It has a mature plan

-in all but one respect.

-It lacks

-the stone fireplace stairs...

-..which later became ubiquitous

-in houses of this type.

-This shows the novelty

-of storeyed houses...

-..and how similar early Snowdonian

-houses were to hall houses.

-The design had yet to be perfected

-when Y Garreg Fawr was built.

-According to

-Houses Of The Welsh Countryside...

-..region-specific storeyed houses

-were built in Wales...

-..in the period after hall houses

-fell from favour.

-Previously, there were only

-hall houses throughout Wales.

-If we then turn to a map which shows

-the location of Snowdonian houses...

-..we see why they earned their name.

-There's a clear concentration

-of this house type in Gwynedd.

-This book is invaluable because

-the information is collated...

-..and presented in a way

-we can all understand.

-As we know, Y Garreg Fawr

-was built as a Snowdonian house...

-..but there are different sorts

-of Snowdonian houses.

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-This is Ty Mawr,

-at the far end of Cwm Wybrnant.

-Bishop William Morgan was born here

-in 1545.

-He was the man who first translated

-the whole Bible into Welsh.

-This is a Snowdonian house

-in its natural setting.

-William Morgan's parents

-were tenants of the Gwydir estate.

-The Wynn family's influence

-went beyond architecture.

-It also shaped the life

-of William Morgan.

-He received his early education

-from the Wynns' private chaplain.

-He then studied at

-St John's College in Cambridge...

-..and he went on

-to serve as Bishop of St Asaph.

-Ty Mawr Wybrnant is famous

-as the home of the man...

-..who secured the survival

-of the Welsh language.

-This hall house was modified

-to appear to be a Snowdonia house.

-Ty Mawr displays the main features

-of a Snowdonian house.

-The door is set to one side.

-The row of first floor windows

-suggests it's fully storeyed.

-The chimneys are on the gable ends

-of the house.

-You can see the wall which was built

-to support the chimney...

-..when this house was modified

-and modernized.

-This house is known

-as a two-unit dwelling.

-The ground floor is divided into

-two units - the large kitchen...

-..and two smaller, screened rooms

-form the second unit.

-The classic features you'll see

-in a Snowdonian house are all here.

-The gable-end fireplace...

-..and a floor, which means

-there are rooms upstairs.

-As I mentioned earlier, this house

-was modified and modernized.

-Ty Mawr was originally

-a classic hall house.

-It was built in the 16th century.

-Using computer graphics...

-..we can see this single-storey

-house in its original form.

-The door leads to a cross-passage

-and a splendid, open hall.

-There's an open hearth

-in the middle of the floor....

-..and a dais screen at the top end.

-The space is open to the roof...

-..and we can admire the

-striking crucks which support it.

-In the 17th-century Snowdonian

-house modification of Ty Mawr...

-..the door at the other end

-of the cross-passage is blocked off.

-A dais screen has been added,

-on the left...

-..and the central hearth

-has disappeared.

-A new fireplace has been added

-at the top end.

-A ceiling has been fitted...

-..and Ty Mawr is transformed

-into a two-storey home.

-It also has a slate roof instead

-of its original stone tiles.

-The house was restored

-by the National Trust in 1988...

-..to mark the 400th anniversary

-of the Welsh-language Bible.

-The only remaining evidence

-that this was indeed a hall house...

-..when Bishop William Morgan

-was born in 1545...

-..is this cruck fragment

-which is stuck in the wall.

-As you can see,

-they sawed across it.

-This proves the window over here

-isn't original.

-The other cruck

-would have been there...

-..and the pair met in the middle.

-This magnificent joist supports

-all the weight of the gable end.

-The wall behind the chimney

-isn't original, of course.

-At the top of this joist...

-..we can see the holes where

-the floor was originally located.

-This is another modification,

-of course.

-Was it a house typical of the area?

-It's called Ty Mawr - A Great House.

-Why was it great?

-The local residents had no means

-of building big houses.

-It was true then, as it is now.

-It's surrounded by animals grazing.

-That formed the basis

-of the wealth...

-..which financed

-the building of this house.

-These were commercial farmers...

-..who made substantial profits

-from rearing cattle.

-This may not look like

-particularly fertile land...

-..but it was a highly efficient way

-of turning resources into money.

-Ty Mawr feels like a remote location

-to us in this day and age.

-It must have been even more remote

-in the 16th century.

-No, to the contrary.

-Many of the drovers' roads from

-east to west and north to south...

-..actually crossed each other

-in this area.

-At the time when William Morgan,

-the great translator, lived here...

-..the drovers' road

-which headed east towards England...

-..passed in very close proximity

-to his home.

-How would people live in this house?

-This would have been

-a farmhouse kitchen.

-Everything happened here.

-Behind us here,

-there's a large table.

-It's the sort of piece

-you'd see here.

-There were platforms on either side,

-where people could sleep.

-All the cooking was done

-on the fire, of course.

-A chain would come from the chimney

-with a cooking pot hanging from it.

-Curiously, they would cure or smoke

-food in order to preserve it.

-They'd smoke food by hanging it

-from hooks inside the chimney.

-The windows aren't glazed...

-..but when this house was modified,

-in the 16th century...

-..glass was being introduced

-into the windows of houses.

-Yes, glass became increasingly

-important from the 1570s onwards.

-I'd expect to see glass

-in large windows, such as this one.

-In a house with an open hearth...

-..it was important to have windows

-opposite each other to draw smoke.

-It controlled the volume of smoke

-in the house.

-That's the origin

-of the word "window" - wind eye.

-On the first floor

-of a Snowdonian house...

-..there is usually

-a gable-end fireplace.

-This was the owner's main bedroom.

-In some cases

-the chamber is divided in two.

-The combination of stone walls

-and solid, good quality carpentry...

-..is one of the main features

-of the Snowdonian house.

-There are no timber-built

-Snowdonian houses.

-This hall house was modified

-to make it fashionable.

-The house we're about to see has

-developed even further than Ty Mawr.

-We've reached Nant Gwynant

-and this is Hafod Lwyfog.

-Although sturdy farmhouses

-on a rugged landscape...

-..are a familiar sight

-in this part of Wales...

-..Hafod Lwyfog

-has a fascinating history.

-It was a house of some status.

-Hafod Lwyfog reflects the wealth

-of Snowdonia in Tudor times.

-It also points to the gentry's love

-of demonstrating their wealth...

-..and of following

-architectural trends.

-This house stands in south Snowdonia

-in the valley of Nant Gwynant.

-Hafod Lwyfog was the home

-of Sir John Williams...

-..goldsmith to King James I.

-It was also the home of Efan Llwyd,

-high sheriff of Caernarvonshire.

-The suggestion is that wealthy

-people lived in this sort of house.

-Sir Clough Williams Ellis

-bought this farm in 1936.

-He wanted to protect the farmhouse

-from damaging developments.

-Today, it's owned

-by one of his descendants.

-As we step into the hall,

-we see the door was set to one side.

-We know the door

-was here originally...

-..because of the style and quality

-of the wood around here.

-Dendrochronology tests on the wood

-date it to circa 1540...

-..which suggests

-this was originally a hall house.

-That was the hall

-and this was the parlour, over here.

-There's a hint of the style

-of the modification...

-..in the timber moulding.

-We'll see much more of it

-in the rest of the house.

-This is the parlour,

-the room with the smaller fireplace.

-There's a larger one

-at the other end.

-Beyond the boxes and office

-equipment, there's a real gem.

-There's a hint of this new

-decoration in the mantel edge.

-It's far more prominent

-on the ceiling beams.

-We tend to think of this part

-of Gwynedd as being rather remote.

-It wasn't remote at all

-400 years ago.

-The high standard of decorative

-touches on the timber...

-..suggests whoever lived here

-kept up with architectural trends.

-The man who did the work

-carved his name onto this beam.

-Efan Llwyd Aedificavit 1638.

-He's saying "I did this work".

-A staircase in the dairy below

-the parlour led to the house above.

-Hafod Lwyfog

-is a four-storey house...

-..if we include the dairy in the

-cellar and the bedroom in the attic.

-Here's one feature of Snowdonian

-houses which we haven't yet seen.

-The stone staircase

-which curls around the fireplace.

-That stone staircase leads here,

-to one of the chambers.

-Unusually,

-there are two staircases here.

-That's the stone staircase which

-we link with Snowdonian houses...

-..and this is a wooden staircase.

-This space stretches all the way

-from the dairy to the attic.

-A staircase may have run

-from top to bottom.

-It's also possible the space was

-filled by cupboards on each floor.

-It could even have been

-a very early toilet.

-The decoration here is as impressive

-as it is on the ground floor.

-The pattern carved into the beams

-and on the dais screen are original.

-As you step through the dais screen

-and onto the landing...

-..what you see is the fruits

-of Efan Llwyd's labour.

-All the dais screens you see here

-were created during that period.

-It's rare to see 16th-century work

-which has remained unaltered.

-This is exceptional.

-We see the same decorative touches

-on all the panels.

-Unlike Ty Mawr Wybrnant...

-..there's a ceiling

-on the first floor rooms.

-The servants

-lived in the loft above it.

-The beams are blackened

-with smoke...

-..which proves that it was

-a hall house originally.

-We're back where we started.

-That's the passage

-and beyond it is the parlour.

-This is the hall.

-The computer graphics gave us

-an idea of how the house looked.

-In the book, we have dozens

-of illustrations...

-..which also give us an idea

-of how different houses looked.

-There's a cross-section

-of a Snowdonian house...

-..which shows all the main features.

-The door set to one side,

-the curving staircase...

-..the chimneys and the floor.

-This is a comprehensive

-illustration.

-We've seen two Snowdonian houses

-in their natural settings.

-How does the Snowdonian house

-develop from there?

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-Next, we visit Bryn Rodyn,

-near Llan Ffestiniog...

-..a house which was built from

-the outset as a storeyed dwelling.

-Unlike Ty Mawr Wybrnant

-and Hafod Lwyfog...

-..Bryn Rodyn was never a hall house.

-This is the first Snowdonian house

-we've seen in its original setting.

-Elinor, you were given the task...

-..of drawing up the plans

-to renovate Bryn Rodyn.

-Where does that process start?

-What procedures

-must the owner follow?

-The owners approached me...

-..and they asked me for assistance.

-I helped them draw up plans...

-..for listed buildings

-planning consent.

-This ancient screen is at the heart

-of the restoration work.

-It divides the two units

-on the ground floor.

-To gain a better understanding

-of the task...

-..an archaeological record

-of the screens was commissioned.

-It bolstered

-the planning consent application.

-What problems does the screen raise?

-The bottom plate is missing.

-These acro props are supporting

-the whole first floor structure.

-I noticed that this doorway

-was a modern opening.

-We did some detective work...

-..to find out

-where the original openings were.

-Those findings

-form the basis of these plans.

-We checked

-the archaeological record.

-We also made enquiries

-with the Royal Commission...

-..and with

-Gwynedd Archaeological Trust...

-..and we're confident that there was

-a splendid entrance into the hall.

-It's large and it's rather grand.

-It goes from here to that point.

-Will you add new timber

-and make it obvious that it's new...

-..or will you try to blend it

-into the original screen?

-If you put new wood

-in an old building...

-..I don't believe you should

-try to make it look old.

-Let people appreciate

-the renovation.

-I'm standing in the corner

-of the main room - the hall.

-Behind me here

-is the enormous main fireplace.

-I'm facing the new kitchen,

-which was added in the 17th century.

-A hole in the external wall

-gives access to the kitchen.

-This is the first L-shaped, extended

-Snowdonian house we've seen.

-The stairs must be

-17th-century additions...

-..because this space was created

-to give access to the stairs.

-Without the kitchen door, there

-would be no room for the stairs.

-The lack of written evidence makes

-dating ancient houses difficult.

-Architectural historians use

-a scientific technique to date wood.

-Dendrochronology, or tree-ring

-dating, has proved invaluable...

-..and the work is now

-being carried out in Bryn Rodyn.

-We often hear it's possible...

-..to date a house

-to the month it was built.

-How is that possible?

-We date the wood which was used

-to construct the house.

-We use the services

-of dendrochronologists.

-They're specialists and they examine

-samples of the timber in the house.

-They use a hollow drill bit

-to extract a sample of the timber.

-In an ideal world, the sample

-comes with bark attached to it.

-The bark tells us in which season

-that tree was felled...

-..and we can date a house

-to within two years.

-This sample was taken

-from the mantel in Bryn Rodyn.

-We need to see the rings more

-clearly in order to measure them...

-..so the sample will be polished and

-a computer will measure ring widths.

-We'll be able to create a graph

-using those measurements...

-..which we'll then match

-to an existing pattern.

-That's how we'll find out

-when the tree was felled.

-Does a wide ring mean the tree

-grew a lot in that year?

-Yes, a wide ring

-means the tree had a good year...

-..with plenty of moisture

-and plenty of heat.

-If you have a dry year,

-the rings are narrower.

-This one's a real whopper!

-Yes, it was a hot, wet year.

-How do you use the results?

-The Commission uses the results

-to help us understand...

-..the chronology

-of the development of houses.

-With Snowdonian houses, we'll learn

-how the designs changed over time.

-In this house,

-the samples taken from the wing...

-..should tell us whether it was

-a much later addition...

-..or if it's almost as old

-as the main house.

-Dendrochronology helps us

-learn more about houses.

-The results of the dendrochronology

-tests at Bryn Rodyn...

-..reveal it was built

-between 1556 and 1560.

-We know the rear wing

-was built later.

-Tests suggest the roof timbers were

-recycled from an earlier period.

-Finally, and very interestingly...

-..the timber used for the mantel

-dates back to 1503.

-This suggests it was recycled.

-Colonel John Jones Maesygarnedd

-was born here.

-He was a roundhead, a puritan,

-a fervent Welshman...

-..and Oliver Cromwell's

-brother-in-law.

-Through that connection, he signed

-the death warrant of King Charles I.

-Dramatic changes came about

-for the republican movement...

-..when the monarchy was restored

-and Charles II was crowned.

-It's said that John Jones rejected

-the offer of a pardon...

-..as he felt to accept would mean

-that he couldn't live with himself.

-He was hung, drawn and quartered

-in London...

-..but he was born right here.

-He also had links with a house

-on the other side of the mountain.

-That house is Uwchlaw'r Coed.

-John Jones lived here with his wife,

-Katherine Whetstone...

-..Oliver Cromwell's sister.

-It nestles above Artro woods

-near Llanbedr, Meirionnydd.

-You enter Uwchlaw'r Coed beneath

-this huge, cyclopean door-head.

-The date is cut

-into the stone - 1585.

-Some older Snowdonian houses were

-dated through dendrochronology...

-..but this is the oldest

-dated example of a Snowdonian house.

-The date is also inscribed on what

-remains of the passage partition.

-Once again, it's dated 1585.

-You can see where the partition

-panels slotted into place.

-There was a door there,

-to create a cross-passage.

-The staircase is still there,

-behind this more recent wall...

-..which makes this

-a classic Snowdonian house.

-The amazing fact about this house is

-that it was extended.

-We know exactly

-when it was extended.

-If you remember Bryn Rodyn,

-the kitchen formed an L-shape.

-In this case, the house was extended

-uphill, along the same line.

-This is the extension.

-I must watch my head!

-This is the external wall

-of the old house.

-There's evidence to suggest

-there was a window here.

-It may have been a big window

-or perhaps a small one.

-It could even have been a door.

-What we know for certain is

-that it's an extension.

-We know this extension

-had been built by the year 1654.

-The date on the beam suggests that.

-We don't know why April 28th 1654

-was a significant date...

-..but it may commemorate

-a birth or a marriage.

-We have no details but this part

-of the house was built by 1654.

-Rhian, you're a landscape historian.

-Can you explain

-what a landscape historian does?

-It's a somewhat unusual job.

-I'll explain

-the field of my expertise.

-I use the names of fields to unravel

-the history of the landscape.

-I research what was here in the past

-and why the house was built.

-The answers to those questions are

-often in the names of the fields.

-Uwchlaw'r Coed, which means

-Above the Woods, is a grand house...

-..which is indeed above the woods.

-I'd expect it to be closer to town.

-It's a good name because

-it stands above Artro woods.

-These were important woods

-and this is an important location.

-It's a splendid plot of land

-on which to build a house.

-For centuries,

-it stood on a crossroads.

-The main road from Harlech to London

-passed Uwchlaw'r Coed.

-The stagecoach used that road.

-How old is the name Uwchlaw'r Coed?

-It's hard to tell

-without seeing written records.

-A record from 1610 describes

-Uwchlaw'r Coed not as a house...

-..but as the name of an area.

-Houses and land

-are mentioned in this record...

-.."In a place called Llanenddwyn,

-Uwchlaw'r Coed."

-It's very common in Ardudwy.

-It was the name of an area.

-The names of the fields on this map

-are familiar...

-..but we perhaps don't know

-what they mean.

-In the case of Uwchlaw'r Coed,

-two Deuparth are noted.

-Yes, Deuparth means two parts

-of one area of land.

-When fields of the same name

-border each other...

-..it's usually a case

-of one large field divided into two.

-This may have been done...

-..because land had to be divided

-when someone passed away.

-It's fascinating.

-Local farmers preserved

-these ancient names.

-They go back centuries

-and they're still significant.

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-Our journey around Snowdonian houses

-ends in Llanfair Isaf, Harlech.

-We can't say

-we saved the best till last...

-..as they all have their merits,

-but this is the hardest to read.

-It looks like a Georgian house

-from this vantage point.

-The only clue to its true identity

-is this door.

-Where is the Snowdonian house?

-There's a classic Snowdonian house

-lurking beneath the surface.

-Look up and you can see

-the roof level has been raised.

-It was a low house, as you'd expect

-in the 16th century...

-..when it was built.

-It was extended sideways.

-There's a blind window over there.

-That's in a more recent unit.

-You can see from the pattern

-of the stones that this is original.

-The most significant feature

-is this doorway...

-..with the upright stones.

-It's typical of a Snowdonian house.

-The chimney on the top

-is part of the original house.

-The same can be said

-of the chimney on the other gable.

-Scratch the surface

-and you'll find a Snowdonian house.

-Let's step inside

-the original house...

-..if you're sure

-this is the original house!

-We're familiar

-with cross-passages...

-..but I can't work out which one

-of these dais screens is original.

-Maybe neither of them is original.

-The left one isn't original...

-..but it's built on the line

-of the original screen.

-Behind it are the servants' room...

-..and a small parlour.

-This is a stone or brick wall.

-The step at the top tells you

-it doesn't fit under the beam.

-It's certainly a later addition.

-This was probably moved here.

-In a Snowdonian house...

-..people entered through the door

-into the cross-passage.

-The servants' rooms and the parlour

-were on that side and this was open.

-The joists follow the same pattern

-on both sides of the truss...

-..which suggests

-this was one large room.

-Let's look at another section

-of this collection of buildings.

-This is the last phase

-of this collection of buildings.

-It's the third of three units.

-It looks far more primitive

-than the others.

-Is it older than the original house?

-When I first came here,

-that's what I thought.

-It isn't older and

-one of the reasons I say that...

-..is that it's built

-in a hall house pattern.

-Upon closer inspection...

-..of the far corner

-and particularly of this corner...

-..you can see

-it clearly abuts the original house.

-It's certainly the oldest unit.

-Dendrochronology tests show...

-.. that this house was built

-between 1535 and 1565.

-Unlike the longhouses of the time,

-which included a byre...

-..animals were kept in separate

-buildings in a Snowdonian house.

-A unique feature of Llanfair Isaf

-is that it's a unit system house.

-A unit system means...

-..is that the main house

-has domestic units attached to it.

-In essence, that means

-there are several houses here.

-Upon the death of the landowner, his

-wife moved out of the main house.

-Their son and heir

-would take over the farm...

-..and she'd move into another house.

-It was known as

-the cottage of the widow's third.

-The widow moved out and took a third

-of the farm's riches with her.

-She owned that third for life.

-This cottage

-is abutted to the main house.

-They share

-one corner of the building.

-That's the only connection.

-You can't walk through a wall.

-To go from one to the other...

-..you went out of one door

-and in through another door.

-It's wonderful to be in here, just

-to see the thickness of the walls...

-..and the beautiful stone wall

-above the fireplace.

-Was it ever storeyed?

-Part of this house was storeyed

-but this isn't one of them.

-This was a hall

-which was open to the roof.

-There are no windows on what

-would have been the first floor...

-..so it's unlikely it was storeyed.

-That part of the unit, which lies

-on the other side of this door...

-..it's likely there was a wall

-to create a chamber above it.

-A window which was once

-a narrow door lies behind the door.

-It led into a servant's room.

-There's a gable window

-in the chamber above here.

-It would have been used as

-a sleeping, cooking and living area.

-It may have been the granny flat

-of its day!

-It has everything you'd need.

-Another part of our

-architectural odyssey...

-..inspired by Houses Of The Welsh

-Countryside is over.

-This step kept me

-in one small corner of Wales.

-A special kind of house was built

-on the rugged Snowdonia landscape.

-In a homogeneous age...

-..it's wonderful to celebrate

-vernacular architecture...

-..which is deeply rooted

-in the area.

-We should all take immense pride

-in Snowdonian houses.

-S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones

-.