The Lost Cottages - Hafod y Cae, Rowen, Caerhun Parish

Hafod y Cae sits in a rather inaccessible location amongst the trees and undergrowth on land up above the Afon Roe where it tumbles down into the valley past the side of Tal y Fan. It's probably more sensibly approached from the road on the north side. Never sensible, I fought through tangles of brambles and woodland growth and down and up steep slopes from the southern side of the river, since I was walking along the footpath in that area at the time.

The deep valley through which the Roe flows is beautiful, though, and a pleasure to fight through. I felt as though I had stepped into another world, far from human impact, where the only signs of human activity were ruins. In the bottom of the valley was a ruined little sheepfold. The hafod sat some distance away, where the slope rose up again towards Tal y Fan. 

There are very few references to this obscure, almost entirely eroded, little hafod online. Many hafodau were later turned into year-round dwellings, but it's possible that this little place never was, and fell into disuse sooner than some of the others. It's certainly very small and shows no sign of improvement in the form of outbuildings, pens, or a small garden. There is a mention in the 1846 tithe lists of 'Hafod y Gael,' shown on the map in the same approximate location as Hafod y Cae (at approx SH 7429 7107). The place is described as 'Pasture, Wood,' and the Landowner and Occupier are both the same George Davies, Esq. The land is 28 acres, 31 perches, and the tithe charged for this is 13 shillings. It seems quite possible that this is the same 'Hafod y Cae,' and it is misspelled either on the Ordnance Survey maps or on the tithe map.

I found a single reference on a blog mentioning the place obliquely, which I reproduce without alteration: June 21st 1907 Indenture between Geroge Randolph Ashley, William Epworth Cowpland, Harry Rathbone Griffith of Tanyronen Portmadoc, Physician and Surgeon, and John Blackwall of Hendre Llanrwst, Supplemental to the before absstracted Indenture dated 19 December 1882 and reciting that a sum of £3,000 ... by the Settlement paid to the said George Randolph Ashley and Alice Louisa Ashley his wife secured by mortgage of Glandulyn Ffynnon Bedr and Hafod y Cae in the County of Carnarvon and Beaver Grove in the County of Denbigh.

Very little remains of this hafod, and the stones are so moss covered that they blend into the ground. There seems to be a sign of a doorway in the centre of the photograph. 

This wall is the highest the remains get, at about three feet.

From behind, the walls are gone almost to the ground.

From the other side, there aren't any signs of windows or doors. I can't be sure now of the orientation of the building. I felt that this was the north side but it may not be. Many of these properties up here on the mountain, when built along an roughly east-west alignment on the south side of a slope, have their windows and doors facing south.

Looking from the inside towards the front. Is this a doorway, blocked up, or just lines in the wall? The structure is very hard to decipher. More experience, or archaeological excavation, would no doubt reveal more.

If this hafod ever did have a proper fireplace, I would guess it was here, where the large amount of tumbled stone implies something more substantial than the walls alone.

At the end of the house there appears to be the remnants of an enclosure, although this could just be rubble from the walls.

Although the place is surrounded with trees, the name, 'Hafod y Cae' ('cae' meaning 'field') would imply that the land was more cleared when the place was used. A scant sentence from an academic article (I would dearly love to read the whole but it would cost me £30 to access) says 'Some scrub on the valley sides was cleared to create summer grazings, for example Hafod y Cae, Hafod y Clawdd near Rowen.' Perhaps, then, this area moved between being cleared and overgrown through the years.

The possible doorway from inside the house.

This area is no more than a pile of stones.

Nature has so taken over that it's hard to visualise this place as an intact dwelling.

A closer look at the probable doorway from outside.

More ferns and tree roots push up between the rocks in front of the house. There might be something of a trackway here, with large stones to the left forming a wall and the house forming the right side of the trackway.

The hafod was built on top of quite an impressive rise of land. If the trees were cleared at that time the view would have been stunning.

Returning to my route meant climbing back down into the valley and crossing the diverging streams of the river. 

 

Back in the valley bottom, I returned to a small ruin (grid reference SH 7467 7115) that at first I mistook on the map for the ruin of Hafod y Cae. I think this place likely became a sheepfold. I don't know if it's associated with Hafod y Cae. On Robert Dawson's 1822 map, however, the building seems to be in the same place as somewhere named 'Pandy Uchaf,' indicating that there was a pandy - a fulling mill - on this river. Perhaps this, then, is the pandy, repurposed as a fold.

 

 

 There are only a few messy, overgrown walls of this structure still on the ground.

 

 

Some of the walls are still quite tightly built, but much has fallen down.

 

 

 A small entrance for sheep into one of the folds.

This area of the fold is still quite intact.

This part is more overgrown. The steepness of the narrow valley's sides can be seen clearly here.

An overgrown entrance to one of the areas of the fold.

 

 

 Up on the edge of the valley, on the other side from Hafod y Cae, the view stretches out over the Conwy Valley to the sea.

 

Looking back down into the secretive little valley it seems as if the whole space has been filled to the tops with trees. This is a wonderful little habitat between the tracts of more level and more intensively farmed land.

The Lost Cottages - Pen y Parc, Rowen, Caerhun Parish

Pen y Parc, at Ordnance Survey grid reference SH 7365 7102, sits up on the hillside on the road to Bwlch y Ddeufaen, on a route that would, at one time, have been much busier. Two roads lead to Rowen nearby; the Roman road, which is accessible for farmers and foot traffic only now, and another much closer road which is marked as a no through road but does, in fact, lead all the way down into the village. When the road was in use for drovers making their way down into the valley and past the nearby White Hart inn, there would have been a lot more traffic on the road, foot or otherwise.

It's uncertain how long there might have been a building on the spot, but the present house was built by our neighbour's great grandfather, probably putting the date of construction relatively late, at some point in second half of the nineteenth century. This means the house had a relatively short life. The building is clearly marked on the 1888-1913 map, although the current footpath on the ground looks a little different to the rectangular footprint shown on that map. Possibly the rectangular footprint is that of a barn which has all but disappeared. It does seem to be that older houses in this area are more often long and low, single storey perhaps with a crog loft or sleeping platform under the roof, in contrast to slightly later, or later altered, fully two storey houses with something of an attic.

There is little to be found about the place online, but 'Ffridd Pen-y-Parc, or Waen-y-Gors' is mentioned in a 1920 sale catalogue of Caerhun Estate. The Great War memorial plaque in Rowen Memorial Hall includes William Jones of Pen y Parc. 

The road leads at a gentle slope down towards the valley of the Afon Roe, with Pen y Parc in the trees to the right of the road, and the White Harts (Isaf and Uchaf) on the rise on the other side of the river.

The gateway to the farm seems little used.

Very little remains of the house but a back wall and a few corners. The rest is tumbled stone. 

Miraculously, this back wall still retains a good amount of plaster, the line perhaps showing a division between areas. 

This picture from a similar angle shows Pen y Parc apparently abandoned, but not yet in ruin, possibly in the mid twentieth century. The picture is reproduced here courtesy of the Rowen website.

The house is almost unrecognisable from the previous photo, but I believe the prominent long cornerstone is the same one that can be seen to the left of the lady in the picture above. The wall remains to the left are what is still standing from the ruined structure to the left of the house in that old photograph.

To the side of the house, past the rubble of that small outbuilding, the views stretch back over the river valley to the peak of Drum. 

Joist holes are still quite visible in this back wall.

Off to the side, this may have been part of the barn indicated on the old map. 

Looking towards the road there is plenty of rubble on the ground, but also a small field free of stones.

Perhaps this small bit of wall to the right of the tree was also part of the barn wall. It seems too well faced to be a simple dry stone wall. Probably this is the right side of a doorway. 

Looking through an old gateway to the south of the house, with a fine view of Pen y Gaer and Pen y Gadair.

Another pile of rubble which looks, on the aerial view, like a small outbuilding.

The same small outbuilding just at the back left of the house.

From the back the house almost looks more substantial, but it's undeniable that this place isn't far from being little more than marks in the ground.

The back corner of the house, with lovely cornerstones, and the end of the barn to the left.

The small outbuilding to the side of the house, again, with Pen y Gaer in the background.

Tal y Fan is in the background, seen past the last ruins of the house wall. 

The road back down off the mountain, with the lower turning to Rowen just on the left near the trees. On this summer's day this seemed like an ideal place to live. In winter, though, it would be very exposed, which perhaps helps to explain the quick demise of the building.

The Lost Cottages - Unnamed Farmhouse

This lovely farmhouse has stood empty for a long time, but so far it survives in relatively good shape. Sadly, it seems that it's owned by a large utility company who refuse to sell or maintain the property, which means it will only fall further into ruin. There are clear signs that the place is used for drinking, and broken glass and graffiti on the walls inside indicate a general lack of respect from those who come here. It seems so sad for one of these well preserved pieces of our Welsh heritage to be allowed to decay like this when there are plenty willing to take care of the place and make it a home again.

The house name is listed on the Historic Place Names site as a field name in 1841, and on the tithe lists of 1846, where a landowner and occupier are listed, with the occupier having over 22 acres of arable and meadow with a tithe payable to the local rector of £1.12s. A well is shown not far in front of the house on the 1888-1913 map.

Because of the nature of the building, with features and some furniture still intact, and its vulnerability to vandalism, no information will be given on its location. It does, however, seem important to document the place before it falls further into ruin. With a few holes starting in the roof, a few bad winters could start a real deterioration.

The house presents a rather odd front to the world, with the windows crowded together in the centre rather than spaced out in the wall.

From behind, the place looks rather anonymous and closed in, with only one window in the back wall, lighting the top of the stairs.

The old barns survive, but are quite ruined. I have wondered if these barns formed the original house before the more modern one was built, but there are few signs of domestic use.

The farmyard is still used regularly even if the house is not.

The barns sit opposite the house, but seem to have been neglected for longer.

In the end wall of the barn there appears to be a large blocked up window.

From the other side the wall looks a little more unstable, full of ferns and moss, and the window shape isn't as easy to see. 

This first cell is largely empty of debris even though the walls seem more damaged. Some of the stone may have been used elsewhere.

The first cell of the barn, has quite a large doorway at the right hand end.

The second cell is longer, and is divided in half by a single storey wall. 

The wall between the first and second cell seems to have a low down blocked window in it. 

It's hard to tell from the stones if this might have been a low, narrow doorway instead of a window. To the side, on the wall, a segment of the old slate roof survives. 

A window in the front of the second cell, to the right of the central partition wall. It seems this would have been pressed up under the eaves.

A narrow doorway to the right end of the second cell. An imprint of the roof can be seen on the end wall, as well as the possible stub remains of the beam above the door.

Perhaps the barns that continue around the corner also had older origins but they are still in use so I avoided photographing them. 

Rubbish and parts of the collapsed roof in the right half of the second cell. 

A few little nooks can be seen built into the back wall, one on the far left and one lower down on the right, behind planks of wood. The wall still retains some render.

The main house stands apart from the barns on the other side of the yard, with a small extension built on the end.

At the front of the house, the window frames survive, although the glass has gone.

The house evidently had a porch built mostly of stone and partly of brick, with a window in the front and a door to the right side. Probably the roof would have been slate.

Part of a cast iron drainpipe still clings to the house wall.

 

The house has a path to the front door, with a small flowerbed running alongside, edged with slate slabs. This either dates from the building of the extension (or later), or the bed always extended beyond the original end wall of the house.

The door may have had a small glass panel above it. The woodwork appears to have been painted with iron oxide paint, ubiquitous to farmyards. It would probably have been the cheapest option.

From inside, the view looks out over the fields and a ruined field wall. The frame is starting to fall out of the window, and plaster is coming off the wall. 

In the corner of the window an empty wine bottle is evidence that people use the place for drinking. The doorway is also full of broken beer bottles, which must pose a danger to the sheep that take shelter in the house. 

The house still retains its main fireplace, complete with ovens, although the doors are missing.

A plate shelf sits over the top of the fireplace. It would have looked pretty adorned with the family china or ornaments. 

To the left of the fire, in the fireplace, there is a small wooden cupboard.

The cupboard still has its door, dirty but intact. 

Someone seems to have made a platform arrangement by piling up tiles and hanging a grill over the top. I don't know to what end, though. 

The curious arrangement of tiles above the fire. It seems as if the grill were hooked onto the chain. Possibly the object on the right is a metal panel or door from the ovens?

One of the ovens, still with a shelf inside. 

From an iron bar above the fire, a chain hangs down from which a pot or kettle could be hung.

An old coat hanger sits on the tiles.

The fireplace itself, flanked with an oven on the right, and another unidentified cast iron piece on the left. 

A rusted metal fitting just above and to the right of the fire. Perhaps this was to do with the draught?

The whole width of the fireplace, with the two ovens, and cupboard to the left. 

In the corner of the room is an old stove which possibly ran on gas, and either supplanted or supplemented the work of the fireplace.

The top of the stove has two hotplates. I didn't try opening them for fear of damaging them. 

Inside the top oven was a small pile of ashes, and a bird's feather.

The interior of the bottom oven. All very rusty. 

In the space to the side is this interesting coil. A friend thought this means the oven was run on gas. 

The temperature gauge on the door doesn't seem to be working any more. There didn't seem to be a maker's name on the stove and the name on the gauge is obscured, although it possible ends in 'dial.'

Some kind of container on the floor, with a hole possibly for a tap at the bottom. The floor is covered with years of sheep mess. Perhaps there's a tile floor underneath? 

By the door, a ruined armchair that looks rather mid twentieth century.

At the back of this single downstairs room is various rubble, including what looks like part of a toilet, although there's no sign of where a bathroom or water closet might have been.

In the corner under the stairs is this damaged dresser, and an old foam mattress that almost suggests rough sleeping. Perhaps the cupboard doors were sacrificed to the fire? 

Looking out of the front doorway, past the ruined porch, with beer bottles scattered over the ground. 

The small extension is too full of rubble and looks too unsafe to enter, but this is the downstairs window, still with its frame intact. 

The sash window still has its cord intact.

Details of the peeling paint on the window frame.

Inside the extension the space is filled with fallen joists and other rubble and rubbish. 

 

An old single bed frame lies on top of the rubble. Perhaps it fell from the room above when the floor collapsed. 

The bed has a delicately ornate headboard with leafy flourishes.

The joist holes for the first floor are clearly seen, with a few joists still in situ. Some of the plaster is still on the wall, but it looks as if the ground floor walls were protected from the weather for longer than the first floor. Presumably the roof disappeared a while before the floor collapsed.

In the main room, the staircase leads up at the side. A small mystery presented itself, since on the outside of the house there is a chimney at the peak of the roof above this wall. There are no signs of a fireplace on either side of the wall, though. The chimney placement suggests the fire would have been in the original house rather than the extension. 

Under the stairs, perhaps a small fireplace would have been here where there could be a small stone lintel. The fire must have been blocked up when the stairs were moved, though. A red rubber towel holder on the wooden upright perhaps suggests a mid twentieth century date of occupation.

On the other side of the wall, in the extension, there's no sign at all of a fireplace.

The main room, looking towards the fireplace with the window to the left. There are no windows in the back wall. The fireplace is curiously off-centre, but perhaps this allowed more room for a piece of furniture to the right of the fire.

The main room, looking towards the stairs, with the doorway to the extension on the right.

The carpet is coming off the stairs, and the paint underneath indicates that once the stairs had a narrower carpet with gaps at the sides.

At the top of the stairs is the single window that looks out from the back of the house.

To the right of the tiny landing is the door through into the first floor of the ruined extension. The top of the doorframe in this photo shows laths and plaster all decaying.

The floor upstairs seems reasonably sound, with narrow floorboards, although the safety rail that runs along the side of the stairwell is broken.

In this room are two beds, a narrow double and a single. A reasonable amount of light comes in through the two windows.

Upstairs is the pair to the armchair downstairs, in rather better condition.

Someone has graffitied rather inexpertly on the wall.

Where the plaster has come off shows the layers of the wall beneath. It almost looks as if the raw stone had been painted some time before this final coat of plaster was applied.

The ceiling is in bad condition, with a lot of the plaster fallen off, although this does make the loft a good habitat for wild animals and birds.

The single bed has a rather unheimlich look, with the centre of the mattress decayed like this.

A painted wardrobe, perhaps Art Deco era or a little later, lies on its side.

Through a hole in the ceiling, the original sturdy beams can be seen which hold the roof up. The roof is in surprisingly good condition.

Looking back the length of the bedroom, with the door into the extension at the left of the end wall.

This is a modestly small double bed, but still takes up a reasonable amount of space in this small room.

The beams seen in the loft come down through the ceiling to butt into the wall just below the roof level.

The armchair looks as if it's waiting for its original owner to come back and sit in it.

The view through one of the windows, out over the fields. This view may not have changed much since the house was built.

In the right hand window a small hazel tree is growing. Broken window glass can be seen on the sill.

Details of the metal bed frame, screwed onto the wooden headboard.

Like a careful dissection, the layers inside the mattress can be seen, right down to the springs.

This rather Art Nouveau detail is on the headboard as well as on the footboard.

The narrow chimney breast sits at the end of the room, and is at something of an angle to the wall.

The chimney breast appears to have been built of brick rather than stone. Perhaps there was a fireplace in this widened area at the bottom.

The curious layout of the chimney breast can be seen here, slightly at a slant to the wall, and with another step of masonry behind it, proud of the wall.

Another glimpse into the loft, looking the other way. There are only a few holes in the roof at the present time.

Looking back at the stairwell, with the safety rails gone.

The room still has moulded skirting board around the edges.

Perhaps this is the door from the doorway to the extension.

Detail of the rusting latch on the door.

Detail of the hinge on the door.

Looking into the extension, and only three joists have survived at this end of the room, with a small amount of floorboard on top.

The doorway is quite deep because it leads through the thickness of the outer house wall. There is still some plaster on this upper wall to the left.

Looking across to the front of this narrow first floor room. Perhaps the two bedsteads in the rubble indicate two children slept in this room, unless the beds have been brought here and dumped at a later date. This must have been a low room where the roof sloped down towards the outer wall.

Looking out over the edge of the extension wall. The room would only have been a few feet high at this side.

Back downstairs, and there are a couple of nests, probably of swallows or housemartins, on the joists.

The second nest. It's nice to think that something is still making this house a home.

On the floor downstairs, an interestingly shaped piece of wood about four inches long.

Standing in the porch, a small shelf can be seen under the porch window. I imagine pot plants sitting here.

Outside, a solid lump of metal five or six inches long.

At the other end of the house, you can see some of the damage just starting on the roof. It is a mystery why the house windows are crowded together like this.

A look at the chimneys. The left has a brick-built chimney pot. The unused one has been capped off.

Looking straight into the house through the porch.

A broken shard of a ceramic jar.

From the end, the shallow-roofed extension.

Cast iron baths in the yard; a common site around farms because they're so useful.

The back of the house seems to have a large crack running diagonally down from the upstairs window.

This is a lonely, exposed little house, but it could still make a beautiful home.