Barmouth Tower House

Description

Salter writes "Exact position of late medieval tower house uncertain."

Ty Gwyn with Davey Jones' Locker Cafe
Located at right angles with the harbour street and sited against a gentle slope; set back slightly behind modern dwarf rubble walls enclosing a raised patio area.
History
`Ty Gwyn yn Bermo' was built in the third quarter C15 by Gryffydd Fychan of Corsygedol, a staunch Lancastrian and one of the principle supporters of Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke. It is described in a cywydd by the famous contemporary poet Tudur Penllyn as `above the salty beach and the foaming white lake of Barmouth below.' Since the C18 antiquarians had tried to locate the building mentioned in the poem, but Pennant already assumed it to have been lost. Despite this, Ty Gwyn is shown on a late C18 map of the harbour area, and it appears prominently in a number of C19 engravings. The building was `rediscovered' some 15 years ago.
Interior
7-bay upper hall with chamfered collar trusses arched to the wall plate and tenon purlin construction. 2 trusses, on the N wall, W end are supported on rough stone corbels. (Apparently) contemporary segmentally-arched fireplace to W wall (presently obscured, autumn 1994). Stopped-chamfered ceiling beams to lower (originally service) room, some of which appear to be original. Primitive end fireplace to W, opposite the entrance, with rough segmental arch; hewn rock flanking this to L and R, giving the impression of battering. 2 blocked window embrasures on N wall together with a blocked entrance and, to the R of the fireplace a crude niche; all are probably later. Further blocked window opening in the S wall. There is a rock-cut basement at the E end.
Exterior
Rectangular first-floor hall block of uncoursed rubble with slate roof; stone coped gables with moulded kneelers, that to the W with a squat end chimney. Vernacular Tudor-arched entrance to lowerfloor of E gable end with deeply recessed modern glazed door. Abovethis, a modern recessed 9-pane sash window. The long S side has raised access to the upper floor; plain entrance with near-flush modern boarded door. 2 small flanking slit-windows. In front of the upper S side is a walled forecourt with stone stepped access at its Wend. This raised forecourt sits on top of a much altered single-storey addition which runs along the whole length; 3 modern 6-pane windows tothe S side of this with, on its E face, set back slightly from the main gable, a modern entrance with boarded door. (Listed Building Report)

Comments

Gatehouse has been informed, by Peter Thomson, that "It was long conjectured that such a house existed and was mentioned in verse as Ty Gwyn in the third quarter of the 15th century by Tudur Penllyn until Ty Gwyn was found to have been converted to multi-occupation dwelling use in Victorian times. It was stripped back and restored by the local authority during the 1980s and is now a small museum. While it was called a tower house it is, in fact, a first floor hall house."
It seems unlikely that this building was ever fortified.