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The hall-houseThe majority of vernacular houses were undefended hall-houses by this period. The hall-house had one large main room which was open to the roof (see Architecture: Plan). There were three types of hall-houses: • the substantial hall-house with three or more units; • a similar hall house in terms of layout on a smaller scale; • the one room hall-house. The type of house reflected the owner’s social status in most cases. The first type belonged to a rich nobleman who had received high status, wealth and land from the the king himself, possibly a knight. The second type belonged to a nobleman of considerable status, possibly a local officer, and the third type belonged to a gentleman of a moderate status.[1] In terms of the homes of Guto’s patrons, we know that Cochwillan was a substantial hall-house which goes hand in hand with the status of its owner, Wiliam ap Gruffudd. Some of the bishops’ houses were also substantial, such as the Bishop's Palace in Bangor, and it seems that Lleweni was also a hall-house in the Middle Ages.[2] However, we only have the descriptions in the poetry to prove that the homes of some patrons were indeed hall-houses. Guto suggests that the Vaynor in Berriew (poem 38) and Moeliwrch in Llansilin (poem 85) were substantial hall-houses; both which were later rebuilt on the same site as the old building. In most fifteenth-century houses, the hall was on the ground floor. However, some houses were first-floor hall-houses which seems to be characteristic of houses in south-west Wales.[3] There are a few exception in north Wales, such as Llys Llaneurgain in Northop and the Tŷ Gwyn in Barmouth, the second home of Gruffudd Fychan ap Gruffudd, and it seems that Bodychen in Anglesey had also its prinicial living space on the upper storey. The houses with the least information about them in this period are the common hall-houses since most of them have disappeared. These were farmhouses and cottages of farmers and tenants and we can only guess that these were also a type of a hall-house with a barn in the lower end, commonly known as ‘long houses’ where animals and people lived under one roof. [4] Bibliography[1]: P. Smith, Houses of the Welsh Countryside (London, 1988), 38.[2]: P. Smith, Houses of the Welsh Countryside (London, 1988), 100. [3]: P. Smith, Houses of the Welsh Countryside (London, 1988), 21-22. [4]: E. Wiliam, Y Bwthyn Cymreig, Arferion Adeiladu Tlodion y Gymru Wledig, 1750-1900 (CBHC, 2010), 47-48. |
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