Tŷ-mawr Welsh Gentry Medieval Hall House

Aerial photograph of Ty Mawr, Castle Caereinion,
after reconstruction, 1998. 
GTJ26914     NPRN:  21452

Tŷ-mawr
Castell Caereinion, Sir Drefaldwyn

Bu rhestru Tŷ-mawr, Castell Caereinion, yn adeilad Gradd I yn ddigwyddiad rhyfeddol o ystyried nad oedd yn edrych ar ddechrau’r 1990au damaid yn fwy cyffrous nag ysgubor yn mynd â’i phen iddi. Wedi i Peter Smith sylweddoli ym 1971 fod yr adeilad yn un hynod bwysig, fe’i hadferwyd ym 1998 ac adfer iddo’r un olwg, mae’n debyg, â phan godwyd ef ym 1460. Ar ôl yr adfer (a’r ailadeiladu rhannol) mae hi’n bosibl deall yr adeilad unwaith eto fel neuadd ag eiliau a ffrâm o goed ac efallai mai hon yw’r enghraifft orau o’i bath sydd wedi goroesi.
Mae dyddio blwyddgylchau coed derw ffrâm y neuadd wedi datgelu’r hanes arferol o addasu adeilad. Cynhwyswyd llawr cyntaf ynddo ym 1594, ac ychwanegwyd lwfer mwg ato erbyn 1631. Mae ffrâm bren lwfer mewnol y simnai wedi’i chadw ond fel arall mae’r adferiad yn mynd â’r adeilad yn ôl i’w ffurf wreiddiol sef, yn ei hanfod, tñ neuadd petryal o dair uned ac unedau deulawr bob pen i’r neuadd agored a’i heiliau.
Mae graddfa ac ansawdd y grefftwriaeth mewn derw yn adlewyrchu statws uchel y trigolion gwreiddiol. Atgynyrchiadau yw rhai o’r craffrwymau addurnol, ond mae’r holl dderw newydd yn cydredeg â’r morteisiau gwreiddiol ac mae’r pedeirdalennau newydd yn ddyfaliad teilwng. Wrth y fynedfa i’r neuadd mae pyst derw’r eiliau (rhan o eil hir bob ochr i brif ofod y neuadd) yn arbennig o ddeniadol ac wedi’u haddurno â phennau colofnau sy’n atgoffa dyn o greneliadau tñ caerog. Prin yw’r tai yng Nghymru sydd cystal am ddwyn i gof fywyd uchelwyr Cymru’r Oesoedd Canol.


Houses of the Welsh Countryside, ffi gurau 46-7, 55d, 62b, 67b, 68b.

Peter Smith and Cecil Vaughan Owen recording Tŷ-mawr in 1971.
DI2010_0757     NPRN: 21452

Tŷ -mawr
Castle Caereinion, Montgomeryshire

The Grade I listing of Tŷ-mawr, Castle Caereinion, is remarkable considering that in the early 1990s it appeared externally to be no more exciting than a collapsing barn. Recognised as highly signifi cant by Peter Smith in 1971, and restored in 1998, it is reconstructed to its probable appearance when built in 1460. Following the restoration (and partial reconstruction) it is possible once again to understand the building as a timber-framed aisled hall, and probably the best surviving example of its type.
Tree-ring dating of the structural oak timbers of the hall has revealed a typical history of adaptation, which included having a first floor inserted in 1594, and a smoke-hood added by 1631. The timberframed internal chimney hood has been retained in a restoration that otherwise takes the building back to its original form - essentially a rectangular hallhouse of three-unit plan with storeyed units at either end of the open, aisled hall.
The scale and quality of the craftsmanship in oak reflect the high status of the original occupants. Some of the decorative bracing is reproduction, but the new oak is all lined up with original mortises and the new quatrefoils are a reasonable conjecture. Particularly attractive are the oak aisle-posts (part of a long aisle on each side of the main hall space) at the entrance to the hall, which are decorated with capitals reminiscent of the crenellations of a fortifi ed house. Few properties in Wales so readily evoke the life of the Welsh gentry in medieval times.

Houses of the Welsh Countryside, figs. 46-7, 55d, 62b, 67b, 68b.



Watch last weeks: Cartrefi Cefn Gwlad Cymru - Y Ty Neuadd - subtitles available.

Related Digital Past Links:
Read more: Tŷ-mawr www.coflein.gov.uk
Further: Tŷ-mawr Images Coflein - Discovering Our Past Online 

Coflein is the NMRW's public online database, searchable geographically through Ordnance Survey maps or by text queries.

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