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Hafotty

Coordinates: 53°16′52″N 4°09′29″W / 53.281°N 4.1581°W / 53.281; -4.1581
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Hafotty
"One of Anglesey's classic small medieval houses"
TypeHouse
LocationLlansadwrn, Anglesey
Coordinates53°16′52″N 4°09′29″W / 53.281°N 4.1581°W / 53.281; -4.1581
Built14th century
Architectural style(s)Vernacular
Governing bodyPrivately owned
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameHafotty
Designated28 May 2003
Reference no.81136
Official nameHafoty Old Farm House
Reference no.AN097
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameAgriculture range at Hafotty
Designated28 May 2003
Reference no.81130
Hafotty is located in Anglesey
Hafotty
Location of Hafotty in Anglesey

Hafotty, Llansadwrn, Anglesey, Wales is a medieval hall house dating from the mid 14th century. Described in the Gwynedd Pevsner as "one of Anglesey's classic small medieval houses", Hafotty is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.

History

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The original house at Hafotty was built of wood.[1] This house is recorded as "Bodiordderch" ("the house of Iordderch"), and has also been called 'Bodarddar'.[2][3] Anthony Emery dates this wooden house to the second quarter of the 14th century.[4] Its original owner was Thomas Norres from Lancashire.[2] In 1535 the house was in the possession of Henry Norris, Constable of Beaumaris Castle.[a][6] By the 16th century, Hafotty had passed to the Bulkeleys, another prominent North Wales family,[b] and had acquired its present name, meaning summer house, or summer dairy.[1] Cadw records extensions to the house in the 16th century, and its re-casing in stone in the 17th.[6] By the 20th century, Hafotty was in a state of some dereliction,[10] but was restored in the 1970s and again in the early 21st century.[5] The house remains in the possession of the Bulkeleys, although under the care of Cadw, and is occasionally open to the public.[2][11]

Architecture and description

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The Gwynedd Pevsner considers Hafotty "one of Anglesey's classic small medieval houses".[5] Peter Smith, in his Houses of the Welsh Countryside, categorises it as a three-unit hall house and notes that, despite its "relatively modest" size, it was still a "house of status".[12] Built to an H-plan, and constructed of rubble masonry, it is of two-storeys.[6] Dendrochronology from tree rings dates the beams in the extension to between 1509 and 1553.[2] The interior contains some notable medieval fittings, including fireplaces and window surrounds.[5] The fireplace has a Tudor arch and the inscription in Latin: Si deus nobiscum, quis contra nos ('If God is with us, who can be against us') which is a Bulkeley family motto. The arch also has carvings of the heads of a Saracen and a bull, another Bulkeley family motif.[2] Hafotty is a Grade I listed building[6] and a scheduled monument.[13]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Although Cadw record the house as still being in the possession of Henry Norris in 1535, Pevsner suggests that it had passed to the Bulkeleys by 1511.[5]
  2. ^ The Bulkeleys are commemorated on the island by the Bulkeley Monument, on the Beaumaris to Llanddona road,[7] and by the Bulkeley Hotel[8] and Bulkeley Terrace, both in the town of Beaumaris.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Hafoty Medieval House". cadw.gov.wales. Cadw. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e Kovach 2017, pp. 31–32.
  3. ^ "Hafotty, Llansadwrn (15705)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  4. ^ Emery 2008, p. 666.
  5. ^ a b c d Haslam, Orbach & Voelcker 2009, p. 193.
  6. ^ a b c d Cadw. "Hafotty (Grade I) (81136)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  7. ^ Cadw. "Bulkeley Monument (Grade II) (5700)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  8. ^ Cadw. "Bulkeley Hotel (Grade I) (5588)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  9. ^ Cadw. "Bulkeley Terrace (Grade II) (5594)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  10. ^ Charles, Geoff (19 November 1964). "Hafoty, Llansadwrn, the oldest house on Anglesey, in danger because of its unsound state". search.digido.org.uk. National Museum of Wales.
  11. ^ "Hafoty: Exploring This Beautiful Medieval House". Boltholes & Hideaways. 19 September 2019.
  12. ^ Smith 1975, p. 42.
  13. ^ "Hafoty Old Farm House". British Listed Buildings Online. 19 September 2019.

Sources

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