CribynLampeter, Ceredigion, SA48 7ND

Troedrhiwfallen is a Grade II listed thatched cottage that offers magical and character accommodation. Over the years the property has been sympathetically renovated and extended to provide a special property that preserves its history while also providing a comfortable home or retreat.

According to its Cadw Listing:

“Late 18th/early 19th century. Probably the upper cob-built parts represent a later raising of the cottage to form a loft….Shown on 1843 Tithe map… Whitewashed elevations, the lower part of shaley rubble, the upper half mostly of cob with some rubble patching… Listed for its special interest as a regional cottage of traditional vernacular construction. Unusual original plan-type. Focal point of village.”

We understand from the current owners that the property was restored in 2003/04. It had been inhabited until the late 1950s although without the benefit of running water, a kitchen and bathroom or any kind of drainage. At the time of its restoration, there were no more than a dozen thatched dwellings of its kind in Ceredigion. It is believed that the house had been one of three cottages on the original site and was originally joined to one of the other cottages. That the house exists at all is remarkable as there had been no fewer than five applications for its demolition before rescue began in 2002.

Lloyd, Orbach and Scourfield’s ‘The Buildings of Wales’ notes the cottage being of “unusual size”. This presumably relates to the building height. It was raised with traditional clom, in the early to mid-19th century. The floor is quarry tiles laid directly onto earth. To the rear, a tin roofed and clad extension was constructed at the time of the restoration in order to provide a kitchen and bathroom. This method of construction was commonplace for vernacular buildings such as this cottage up until the 1920s. The cottage’s original rear exit was found during the building of the extension.

During restoration, collapsed corners were reconstructed with shale/lime mortar mix with holes patched with lime mortar mix (3:1 sharp sand to lime). The original chimney superstructure, a 12 foot high wooden cage, had survived. This consists of ash rods having hazel wands woven between them, the whole finished with a lime/clay daub. The conical thatched chimney was reconstructed on the evidence of old photographs. Sometime prior to WW2, the roof has been capped in tin. This preserved most of the original wheat straw thatch. The cottage possesses a traditional gorse underthatch, the sole surviving example outside of a museum.

Accommodation
A welcoming front entrance leads into the reception hall with a quarry tiled floor and doors leading off to the accommodation rooms. A door on the left opens into the living room that features the traditional old fireplace and bread oven and a double height ceiling rising up to the thatched roof. A staircase rises up from the living room to the principal bedroom with a vaulted thatched ceiling and stunning exposed roof timbers.

Opposite this room, across the reception hall, is the second bedroom featuring another traditional old fireplace. At the end of the hall can be found the kitchen dining room on the left hand side. This room includes fitted cabinetry, a Belfast sink, electric cooker and washing machine. Opposite this room across the hall is the bathroom that has a rolltop bath and separate shower.

Externally
Externally the property enjoys a pretty garden area with a mature hedge to the front and a small lawned area to the rear. To the side is a gravel area providing private parking space for a car and then a larger private lawned area set above it with mature trees and a picnic bench to sit and enjoy the surroundings. A gravelled pathway leads right around the property providing access.