Understanding Traditional Buildings

1 Traditional Construction: from ‘clom’ and thatch to town houses and terraces

This leaflet is about traditional buildings in South-West Wales. It discusses what they are, why they are an important part of Welsh cultural heritage, and why we should all be interested in understanding them better and caring for them properly. Cover image: Nant Wallters Cottage © St Fagans National History Museum

Left: Terrace, Glanaman Below, left: New build, Llandeilo

What is a ‘traditional churches, chapels and even stately homes building’? and castles. Most of Cadw’s listed buildings fall within the ‘traditional’ category, but Traditional buildings are generally defined many traditional buildings still in everyday as those that were built before 1919, use as homes and businesses are not listed. with solid (as opposed to cavity) walls, using natural materials including stone, earth, brick, wood and lime (used for mortars, Why are they important? What does a Castles and cottages renders and paints). The social and cultural history of every traditional Welsh Wales is associated in the public Traditional methods of construction were area is reflected in its traditional buildings. building look like? imagination with castles. In fact castles are widely used in Wales until the early 20th Although some may not initially seem special often seen as defining our built heritage. century, so the term ‘traditional’ covers or exciting, each one is an irreplaceable Most traditional buildings in Wales are a The true icon of Welsh traditional building a huge range of types, styles and ages of element of the Welsh historic landscape. unique mix of locally derived ‘vernacular’ however, is the cottage. building. It comprises cottages, farmhouses and more formal ‘polite’ influences. and agricultural buildings, industrial Modern construction methods produce Architect designed ‘polite’ styles were In their most basic and ingenious form, buildings, terraced rows, town houses, generic buildings, so a newly built house in first used in houses of the wealthy and Welsh cottages are characteristically low Carmarthen might be identical to one in grand public buildings, but were gradually walled and constructed of rubble-stone. Manchester, Glasgow or Dublin. adopted and adapted in buildings of the Where stone was scarce a mixture of earth, less affluent as local builders interpreted straw and animal manure (known in Wales The materials and techniques used in them using their own techniques and the as ‘clom’) was used for walls. Timber, often traditional construction have created the available materials. ‘in the round’ provided structural elements, individual, contrasting and idiosyncratic and chimneys were made of wattle covered buildings that help to define the distinctive with a mixture of clay and dung. Thatch character of our towns, villages and Above: Traditional Welsh Cottage, composed of locally sourced vegetation Castell Cottage, Ystrad Fflur rural landscapes, and the identity of the From the Collections of the National – gorse, heather, bracken, reeds and straw communities that live in them. Monuments Record of Wales was the usual roofing material.

2 Understanding Traditional Buildings 1 3 Understanding Traditional Buildings 1 Left: Cwm Eilath longhouse, Llansadwrn Left, below: Ty’r Celyn longhouse, Llandeilo

Right: Welsh slate rooftops, Llandeilo Right, below: Three-bay Georgian symmetry, Salem

Welsh cottages were not formally designed. materials and show an awareness of local materials and techniques which continued Georgian symmetry and proportion saw They were made by the people who environmental conditions which is often to colour the character of its buildings. varying degrees of expression in local lived in them and the local community, lacking from developed building styles. Although more substantial homes do buildings. The impact of this architectural from their combined knowledge and a They are a blue-print for sustainable building survive from earlier centuries, the largest influence is demonstrated by the shared understanding of what a house today – all elements break down and return proportion of domestic traditional buildings numerous three-bay, stone-built houses should be. Far from being poor substitutes easily to the landscape from which they in South-West Wales dates from the with central front door and gable-end for something more elaborate, they were built, and to which they belong. 19th century. chimneys throughout South-West Wales. made resourceful use of locally available When abandoned, Welsh cottages do The extent of rebuilding at a local level not last long - few surviving examples The Nineteenth Century depended on individual circumstances. pre-date the 19th century. However, they Although some buildings were wholly represent a building tradition with ancient The 19th century saw dramatic changes rebuilt, occasionally only the visible roots, whose local variants developed to the Welsh landscape. As industrialisation parts were remodelled, giving a superficial over many centuries in relative isolation, got under way, and communication ‘face-lift’ to an earlier ‘core’. and can properly be described as ‘Welsh networks developed and expanded, new vernacular architecture’. materials, ideas and wealth encouraged widespread rebuilding.

Change and continuity The arrival of the railways made slate quarried in North Wales widely available. Vernacular building traditions survive This led to a rapid decline in the use of longest in communities that remain thatch and fundamentally altered the isolated. However, every part of Wales visual character of many Welsh villages

retained a bed-rock of distinctive local on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales Commission copyright: Royal This page: © Crown and small towns.

4 Understanding Traditional Buildings 1 5 Understanding Traditional Buildings 1 Character and Fabric Why should I find out more about The position and proportion of groups of features, sometimes of different dates, my traditional building? combine to define the character of a On farmsteads the house was often rebuilt, The resultant Victorian and Edwardian traditional building. Despite their cultural importance, many while older outbuildings were retained. housing boom was characterised by traditional buildings in Wales are damaged The former farmhouse then became an designed ‘pattern-book’ styles. Terraced Character can be hard to pinpoint, through lack of understanding and extra outbuilding. rows of houses were set in narrow plots, but it is fragile, and easily damaged by inappropriate care. often in narrow streets with regular building ‘modernisation’ and insensitive building Poorer farmsteads shared many features lines where the topography allowed. work. The loss of individual elements Traditional buildings are arguably more at risk of cottage architecture. A lot of these The character of specific areas and such as chimney stacks, the replacement than ever before. Whereas for much of the small buildings, particularly in agriculturally individual streets was defined by the use of traditional sliding sash windows 20th century, older, less ‘desirable’ elements marginal areas, were abandoned during of uniform styles. More affluent families and wooden doors, the insertion of of a building were often just covered over, the 19th century in favour of the growing lived in semi-detached houses designed as disproportionately large picture windows all the current trend for radical remodelling industrial centres. symmetrical pairs, or larger detached ‘villas’. lead to an incremental loss of character. has seen the level of intervention in building fabric increase substantially. Buildings were of stone and brick with The best way to preserve a building’s Terraces and towns slate roofs. The uniform size of bricks character is by allowing it to speak for itself Finding out more about your traditional enabled the mass-production of identical rather than forcing it to make a statement. building will help you to understand it, The rise of large scale industry led to window and door reveals. Brick was also The natural materials from which traditional recognise the qualities which make it huge population increases in places that used decoratively. Because it had been rare buildings are crafted have an innate special, and take care of it properly. had previously been sparsely settled. in South-West Wales before this period, beauty of their own. Utilising materials and The large work-forces involved in mining, its prolific use in visible facades of larger techniques appropriate to your building Left: Abandoned farmstead. Ffosfudr Farm, metalworking and dock work caused an buildings was a conspicuous statement will ensure that it retains the qualities which Ceredigion unprecedented need for social housing. of wealth and status. make it special and unique. Above: Terrace, Glanaman

6 Understanding Traditional Buildings 1 7 Understanding Traditional Buildings 1 Victorian villa, Llangadog

and County Council’s Records Office hold copies of many historic maps and documents, and can help you find material relevant to your traditional building.

Further Reading Blundell, C. 2007: Precious Inheritence. The conservation of Welsh Vernacular Buildings. Eurwyn William: The Welsh Cottage. How do I find out more? Peter Smith: Houses of the Welsh Countryside. Looking carefully at your building can reveal Iorwerth C. Peate: The Welsh House. how it was constructed, how it has been used, and how it has evolved over time. Contacts Variations in material and style can suggest Tywi Centre: 01558 824271 the order in which different parts were built. www.tywicentre.org.uk The Society for the Protection of Ancient Earlier elements can survive beneath Buildings (SPAB): 020 7377 1644 modifications. Fireplaces and chimneys www.spab.org.uk that were covered over often survive within Royal Commission on the Ancient walls. Old roof timbers and even thatch can and Historical Monuments of Wales survive beneath later roof coverings, earlier (RCAHMW): 01970 621200 floors beneath a levelling layer of cement. www.rcahmw.gov.uk Dyfed Archaeological Trust: 01558 823121 Old photographs, deeds and sale www.dyfedarchaeology.org.uk documents can hold clues to your building’s Cadw: 01443 336000 past. Historic maps are particularly useful, www.cadw.wales.gov.uk and can show how it relates to the developing landscape of your area. Your Principal authors local Historic Environment Record (HER) Helen Whitear & Tom Duxbury