Daren Uchaf Farmhouse

The interior of this house is very remarkable. The entry is onto what was a cross passage which may never have had a rear door due to the hillside immediately backing the house. On the left there is no partition and the kitchen is now modern apart from a chamfered ceiling beam with run out stops. All the upper part of this section is new. To the right is the end entry into the medieval hall which was a single bay and open to the roof. The present room was formed in the C17 when the fireplace, staircase and ceiling beams were introduced. The fireplace has been altered with a concrete lintel. The beams are chamfered with scroll stops, the underside of the floor boards are visible and these have been packed up in recent times. The inner partition is very unusually a stone wall with two doorways. This indicates two inner rooms originally, these were unheated. The present room has a ceiling beam with hollow chamfer and runout stops, C19 joists, a modern fireplace, and bare stone walls. There is some evidence of a small window in the rear wall, and a vertical recess in the front wall. A stone firestair leads to the upper floor of the hall. This has very good wide oak floorboards from the C17. A remarkable feature is the top of the stone partition wall which rises to eaves height and then has a timber framed partition of heavy oak, a wall plate, principals and vertical studs. This has been broken through in the centre with a C17 oak plank door to give access to the upper inner room. The centre of the room has an arched braced collar truss with trenched purlin, the brace has slipped on the south wall where the pegs have broken, both have iron straps. The inner room has a C19 floor which is two steps down. The only features of interest are the continuing timber work. The roof space, accessible over both rooms gives proof positive that the hall was open and that the timber frame above the stone partition is original. The hall roof is heavily smoke blackened, and the inner room roof is equally clearly not. An additional point of interest is the apparent confirmation that the inner end was always storied and must therefore have had a ladder stair from the lower room until the C17 changes.

Pink and grey local sandstone rubble with an artificial slate roof (plastic). One storey and attic. Rectangular single depth three unit block with cross passage entry, hall and inner room to right with the hall stack backing onto the passage, and kitchen to left. The left hand end has been largely rebuilt and heightened since 1987 as can be clearly seen in the stonework. The right hand end of the house is on a battered stone plinth giving a clear indication of medieval origins. The ground floor has three windows, a 2-light timber casement under an oak lintel to left (this is fitted into what appears to have once been a doorway, two beam ends project to support what was a porch), a 3-light to the hall (this has a much wider dripmould), and a 2-light with dripmould to the inner room. The windows with dripmoulds indicate improvements of the C17, although the present ones are differernt sizes from those. The entrance is between the first and second windows with chamfered oak architrave and studded plank door. This is under the same oak lintel as the window to the left. The upper floor has two 3-light half dormers sloping heads. Hall stack and end gable stack are both weathered for thatch. The left gable is modern, the right gable has an attic casement, the rear elevation is blind except at the modern end, and has a rooflight.