ILLUSTRATIONS AND NOTES ΤΟ MR. T. E. ELLIS'S PAPER ON DOMESTIC AND DECORATIVE ART IN WALES. BY ROBERT WILLIAMS, F.R.I.B.A. INSANITARY and incomplete in many respects the old Manor Houses and Cottages of Wales undoubtedly were, but with all their defects they did not lack character; they stood four square to the winds, the rain and the sun. The thick thatch or heavy stone roof-covering supported on massive oak timbering defied the storms, and the massive walls stood unmoved through many generations. Many of these houses still stand, and had they been but reasonably cared for many more would have been extant. Such a house is that at Aberthun (Fig. 1') built some 300 years ago, and though it is now shorn of much of its beauty, it proclaims its nameless architect (who was probably a local master-mason) to have been a man of no mean ability. The house is by no means a repetition of others of the period, but similar in character, and skil 1 We are indebted to Mr. Sam Hayter, of Cowbridge, for the excellent photographs (Figs. 1 & 2) which are here reproduced, and to Mr. W. Thomas, the tenant and owner, for his kind permission to measure and sketch, G fully adapted to the site, which is situate away from the main county road from Cowbridge to Pontypridd, at the northern foot of the Stalling Down, in a little valley through which runs the sparkling little brook Thun, on its way to a confluent of the Thaw or Ddawen, which runs right across the town of Cowbridge. Let us examine the proceedings of the architect for a moment. On looking at Fig. 2, which is a back-corner view of the house, it will be seen that the ground rises rapidly at the back, and here the architect made a considerable excavation, although he had plenty of space without excavating, yet he chose to push his house as far as possible from the foot of the down. He planned his house as a letter T with a very short stem, the cross forming the long front, thus : : This plan enabled him to get plenty of light at A A for his numerous rooms. Now, if we turn again to Fig. 1 we shall see that the house is approached by a long path bordered by fine old clipped hedges; on the right is an ample kitchen garden, and on the left an orchard. The little brook already mentioned runs in front at right angles to the path, and is crossed by a low stone bridge, which forms an approach to what was once an exceedingly picturesque lodge, consisting of a central archway (with its massive doors and hinges still in position), over which there is a room, The archway was flanked originally by two wings which might have formed two cottages, or, in the troublous times of faction and other fights, a cottage and small armoury. One only of the wings still stands, the other was taken down unnecessarily some time since. Between the brook and the foot of the down there is a rough parish road, from which the down rises abruptly. It will now be seen why the architect pushed his house so far into the rising ground on the other side of the valley. He wanted to utilise the whole width of the valley, about 200 yards, to break the abruptness of the direct view of the Stalling Down, and to extend the lateral views; he also desired that the full force of the sun should be concentrated upon his principal rooms. The undoubted care taken in selecting this site, away in a spot secluded from the main road (hence its being unvisited by "descriptive" writers) bears out Mr. Ellis's remarks as to the choice of a site. As to the architectural character of the building. The general aspect and grouping are pleasant. The three gables in the front are of good proportion and inclination, and could we but call to mind the thick stone roofing slabsbrought, doubtless, from Llantrisant, six miles distantthe parapets of the gables, with their well-moulded Sutton stone copings, the simple though well-proportioned finials, and the heavy stone ridge-covers, we should see a building not unworthy a master of the craft. The shorn verges of the main gables to the left and right, occasioned by the modern slated roof, give the house a bald, unfinished appearance, greatly unlike what it was as it left the hands of the architect. The house was built at a time when the four-centred or Tudor arch had become flattened almost to a straight line. The windows are all square-headed; the heads of the doorways on the exterior, and those of the fire-places in |