History

Built c1860 by the Penrhyn Estate as the farmbuildings of the model farm at Ty'n-yr-hendre. Although including cowhouses, pigsties and a barn amongst its buildings, Ty'n-yr-hendre primarily operated as the estate's specialist horse farm, at which were kept a large number of horses (cobs, shire horses and coach horses), some of which were used on adjoining farms, rather than exclusively at Ty'n-yr-hendre. Substantial part of south range, principally on upper floor has been converted to domestic accommodation and parts of other buildings were being converted to workshop and related uses at time of Survey.

Exterior

Model farmbuildings arranged around 4 sides of a square cobbled yard with free-standing double-sided open-fronted shelter shed in centre (listed separately) facing onto its own smaller walled enclosures. Roughly coursed rubblestone with lintels or voussoirs to majority of openings; hipped slate roofs of varying heights, some with ridge ventilators. Entrance through break on east side; stabling in all ranges, except for 5-bay cart shelter to south of entrance in east range, barn in south-west corner, granary above stabling in 2-storey part of south range and cow housing on west side.

External elevations: walls largely unbroken: east range has only one window (to far right); west range has 2 windows to barn; north range has 2 windows to left and door and window to right; south range has door to left, pit with cast-iron grinding wheel towards centre (above which the roof has a C20 rooflight) with 3 windows immediately to its right and an eaves window to single-storey section on far right.

Internal (yard) elevations: southern section of east range (to right of entrance) is 5-bay cart shelter with tooled voussoirs to wide segmental-arched openings. This is attached to single-storey section of south range, which has 2 ventilator windows alternating with boarded doors; wider segmental-headed opening (new glazed screen and door being inserted at time of Survey) on right; upper floor of long 2-storey section has 3 evenly spaced segmental-headed eaves windows towards left; ground floor has from left to right a window, door, window, door, window, door, window, window, door, window, all with voussoirs to slightly cambered heads, the right door wider than the others, the windows all originally ventilator windows, some remaining as such. Barn in west range has segmental-headed doorway on left, 4 narrow ventilation slits to right; remainder of this range occupied by cowhouse with alternating ventilator windows and doors, 4 of former, 3 of latter. Stables occupy the whole of the north range and that part of the east range north of the entrance; openings more widely spaced to western end of north range for loose boxes, closer together with alternating doors and windows to remainder for stables, mainly C19 originals but some replacements being inserted at time of Survey; 3 brick ridge stacks at eastern end of north range.

Interior

All single-storey buildings around yard have A-frame trusses; king-post roof in 4 bays to barn; slate troughs, hay racks, cobbled and slate floors throughout; late C20 milking parlour installed in west range.

Reasons for Listing

Included at Grade II* as a remarkably well-preserved group of mid-C19 model farmbuildings, both in terms of the physical fabric of the buildings and their setting (the fully cobbled yard and the absence of any modern buildings); also important as a physical demostration of the high standard of accommodation and welfare afforded to the estate's farm animals, particularly its horses, for which this was the specialist farmstead.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q17738930

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)