Abernodwydd Farmhouse, 2004

This farmhouse is typical of the timber-framed houses of mid-Wales and the Marches in both its plan and construction, with its fireplace opposite the only doorway. The walls are set on a stone sill to prevent the beams rotting, with the panels between the timbers filled with woven hazel rods daubed with clay. The floors are of beaten earth. Originally, the hall or main living room was open to the roof, but a loft was added in 1708. At the same time the fireplace was moved from the centre of the floor and placed against a new stone chimneybreast, and enclosed with built-in benches. Before it was moved to the site of the Museum of Welsh Life in 1955, Abernodwydd farmhouse originally stood in Llangadfan, Montgomeryshire.

Text from Gathering the Jewels: www.gtj.org.uk/item.php?lang=en&id=28928&t=1