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.