Tŷ Mawr, Castle Caereinion

Tŷ Mawr is a Grade I-listed timber framed house in the township of Trefnant in the historic parish of Castle Caereinion, Montgomeryshire, Wales. Occupied by the Lloyd family, who were descendants of Alo ap Rhiwallon (who had settled in Trefnant in the 13th century). The house was re-discovered in 1971 and fully restored to its late 17th-century appearance in 1997–8. The restoration gained the RICSs "Building of the Year" award in 2000. In 2001, a volume of the Montgomeryshire Collections was devoted to a detailed description of the discovery and the research programme that was carried out on the building. The house is open on an occasional basis or by appointment.Discovery and reconstructionTŷ Mawr was discovered by Peter Smith and Cecil Vaughan Owen in 1971, by when it was used as a farm building, clad in corrugated sheeting. The house was the subject of a building survey in 1979. In 1997 dendrochronological dating of the building was commissioned by Cadw, which showed a felling date of 1460 AD for the timber used in the initial construction of the building. Archaeological excavations were carried out in conjunction with the building survey in 1979, and again in 1997 by the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust, which established the main phases of occupation of the house. This showed that the house was a good example of a Welsh longhouse with a cattle byre at one end. A study of the carpentry techniques and the geometric basis for the laying-out of the house was also undertaken. Other studies included agricultural evidence including the survival of early fruit trees in the surrounding hedge rows and the landscape history of Trefnant township. The property had been purchased by the Secretary of State for Wales in 1975 for £2,000 and was leased back to Powis Estates for 999 years by the Welsh Office in 1997. Restored for Cadw in 1997–8 by Michael Garner, the work being undertaken by Frank Galliers and Co. of Shrewsbury.