Bryndraenog Welsh Gentry Medieval Hall House

Bryndraenog, Bugeildy; reconstruction drawing showing the main elevation after the introduction of chimneys and partial stone walling of the upper end, as published in the RCAHMW volume, Houses and History in the Marches of Wales. Radnorshire 1400-1800, page 47, figure 38.
DI2009_1066     NPRN: 81056

Bryndraenog
Bugeildy, Sir Faesyfed

O dan garpedi modern Bryndraenog ac uwchlaw ei nenfydau plastr cewch dystiolaeth mai neuadd uchelwr oedd y ffermdy hwn, i gychwyn, yn yr Oesoedd Canol. Yn ôl y blwyddgylchau, codwyd y tŷ o goed a gwympwyd ym 1436, ac mae arysgrif yn cofnodi i’r oriel sy’n rhedeg o amgylch y tŷ ar lefel y llawr cyntaf gael ei osod yno union ddwy ganrif yn ddiweddarach, ym 1636.
   Mae’n fwy na thebyg mai’r sawl a gododd y neuadd oedd rhingyll a fu’n gyfrifol am weinyddu arglwyddiaeth Maelienydd. Mewn cywydd cynnar gan Ieuan ap Hywel Swrdwal o’r Drenewydd sy’n canmol Llywelyn Fychan ab Ieuan, Bryndraenog, ac yn tystio i gryfder y Gymraeg mewn ardal sydd bellach wedi’i Seisnigo, disgrifi r y tŷ fel ‘morwyn falch o galch a gŵydd’.
   Ar y pryd, ffurf U oedd i gynllun y tŷ, sef neuadd â thri bae ac adain allanol ym mhob pen gyda pharlwr, geudy ac ystafell olau yn y pen uchaf, a chegin ac ystafelloedd gwasanaethu yn y pen isaf. Er mwyn ychwanegu at y symbolau pensaernïol o statws ceir cyntedd deulawr eithriadol ac ar ei lawr cyntaf ystafell bwysig a arferai fod, efallai, yn gapel neu’n oratori.
   Bu ailadeiladu, newid ac estyn yr adenydd ers y cyfnod cyntaf hwnnw, ac erbyn heddiw mae’r to addurnol â’i ategion cysbedig a’i dreswaith pigfain o feillion o’r golwg yn y llofft. Ond nid yw’r ffenestri newydd a’r rhannu a fu ar yr adenydd yn amharu dim ar arwyddocâd cyffredinol Bryndraenog fel un o’r cartrefi canoloesol sydd wedi’u diogelu orau yng Nghymru.

Houses and History in the March of Wales, ffi gurau 34-50.

Reconstruction drawing of the hall interior of Bryndraenog, as published in RCAHMW Houses and History in the Marches of Wales, Radnorshire 1400-1800, fig 39.
DI2009_1071     NPRN: 81056

 


Bryndraenog
Buguildy, Radnorshire

Underneath the modern carpets and above the plaster ceilings of Bryndraenog lies the evidence that this farmhouse started life as a medieval hall of lordship status. Tree rings reveal that the house was built from timber felled in 1436, and an inscription records that the gallery that runs around the hall at fi rst-fl oor level was inserted exactly two centuries later, in 1636.
   The hall was probably built by the rhingyll, or reeve responsible for administration in the lordship of Maelienydd. An early poem by Ieuan ap Hywel Swrdwal of Newtown in praise of Llywelyn Fychan ab Ieuan of Bryndraenog is testament to the former strength of the Welsh language in this now Anglicised area, and he describes the house as ‘a proud maiden of lime and timber’.
   The house at that time followed a U-shaped plan formed from a three-bay hall with outer wings at each end. These would have contained a parlour, privy and first-fl oor solar at the upper end, and kitchen and service-rooms at the lower end. Adding to the architectural symbols of status is the exceptional storeyed porch, which contained a first-fl oor room of significance, possibly a chapel or oratory.
   There has been rebuilding, alteration and extension of the wings since that fi rst phase, and today the decorative roof with its cusped windbraces and trefoiled ogee tracery is hidden in the loft space. But the replacement windows and subdivided wings do not detract from the overall signifi cance of Bryndraenog as one of the best-preserved medieval homes in Wales.

Houses and History in the March of Wales, figs 34-50.

Series link to last week's episode:
Cartrefi Cefn Gwlad Cymru - Tai Eryri - subtitles available.
(Houses of the Welsh Countryside - The Snowdonia house)

First Episode:
Cartrefi Cefn Gwlad Cymru - Y Ty Neuadd - subtitles available.
(Houses of the Welsh Countryside - The Hall House)

Cartrefi Cefn Gwlad Cymru - Bilingual Publication
This stunningly illustrated book provides a wonderful opportunity for a better understanding of our precious architectural history – from the early Medieval House and the Longhouse to Houses of the Welsh Border, through to the Modern House and the Cottage. For the first time it features spectacular CGI images which provide unique perspective views of the Welsh house.

Related Digital Past Links:
Read more: Bryndraenog www.coflein.gov.uk
Further: Bryndraenog 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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