Old Roundhouse, Gwaun-clawdd Farm near Abercrâf, Breconshire

Description

A short distance west of the village of Abercrâf in the valley of the river Tawe is the tiny hamlet of Bridgend, consisting of a single row of cottages. Along a winding track leading up the hillside from Bridgend is an old farm called Gwaun-clawdd on whose land stands a most fascinating structure known locally as Ty Crwn or Ty Round (the Roundhouse). On a sunny afternoon in late September, two friends and I decided to investigate....

Image 1:

Ty Round seen through the trees as one approaches from the west.

Image 2:

The southern aspect of the roundhouse (see also bottom of page).

Image 3:

The south-western aspect of the roundhouse.

The roundhouse consists of a central circular stone building against which a lean-to has been erected. The core building and its conical roof seemed to be in a good state of repair, but the outer structure was mostly roofless and crumbling.

Image 4:

The roundhouse viewed from the north.

To the left is the only part of the outer structure which still retains its roof. Directly ahead is the north entrance, showing a central passageway communicating with the south entrance to the building.

Image 5:

The south-eastern aspect of the roundhouse.Note the delapidated state of the outer structure. Many of the roof timbers had collapsed and the stone walls were crumbling and in poor condition.

Image 6:

The south entrance to the roundhouse. 

Image 7:

The interior was divided by sturdy stone walls into separate compartments or pens, and the floor was covered with sheep droppings

Image 8 & 9:

The conical roof of the main building was supported by an amazing complexity of interconnecting timber beams and trusses. The roof supports appeared to have recently been repaired and were in good condition.

So what exactly was the purpose of Ty Round?

The most authoritative explanation is given by Hughes and Reynolds (1989) who wrote, "Another Scottish innovation was the introduction of circular cattle byres [cow sheds] with double outer walls enclosing an annular feeding passage. Examples can be seen at Gwaunclawdd (SN 8191 1225) and Blaenpelena (SS 8215 9489)."
The statement is supported by an illustration of the southern aspect of the building (below). The structure was evidently in rather better condition in the 1980s than in September 2002!

Image 10:

Source: A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of the Swansea Region, by Stephen Hughes and Paul Reynolds, 2nd edition published in 1989 by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments in Wales, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion. ISBN 1-8711840-1-0

In 1990, the late T. J. Davies of Ystradgynlais, stated that Ty Round was "....a unique form of cattle house built on the land of Gwaun-clawdd Farm, property of the Williams family, Aberpergwm. It is situated on the hill above the Lamb and Flag Inn [at Bridgend] which derives its name from the Aberpergwm Coat of Arms."

Source: Volume II of Faces and Places of the Parish of Ystradgynlais, by T. J. Davies, published in 1990 by Gomer Press, Llandysul, Ceredigion. ISBN 0-86383-7654

In 1979, Richard Haslam wrote: "Waun-Lwyd. The circular cattlehouse seems to be unique in the United Kingdom, though several were built on a similar plan in the early C19 in the eastern United States. The design is a central cylinder of stone with a conical roof with good timberwork, divided by a cross-passage. From the segmental rooms so formed, four openings give into two crescentic cattle sheds which surround either side of the doorways. At the time of writing it is falling down." Note that Haslam appears to have wrongly identified the location of Ty Round, which is at Gwaun-clawdd, not Waun-Lwyd.
Many thanks to Anna Brueton of London, England, for supplying the above extract.

Source: Penguin Buildings of Wales series; Powys volume by Richard Haslam, first published 1979.

Please e-mail me via my Contact Page if you can provide more information about the history of the roundhouse at Gwaun-clawdd Farm, or if you know of the existence of similar structures elsewhere.

• http://www.jlb2011.co.uk/walespic/archive/021001.htm (link opens in new window)