This title is now out of print, but is available as an eBook.

This book is also available in Welsh:
Y Bwthyn Cymreig: Arferion Adeiladu Tlodion y Gymru Wledig, 1750-1900 (eLyfr)

The traditional cottage is one of the most distinctive features of the landscape of Wales. With the loss of thousands of examples over the past century it has become almost an endangered species, but a great deal has been learned from studying cherished surviving buildings and making a careful record of others before they were lost forever. The earth or timber walls, pebble floors, and roofs of rush, turf or stone in these humble buildings tell a fascinating story of distinctive local traditions, skills handed down from generation to generation, and the struggle to survive.

This book is about the homes of the rural poor during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and in particular the materials, techniques and processes used to build them. It is based on evidence derived from the buildings themselves, documents and contemporary descriptions. It shows that many cottages were 'home-made homes' but nevertheless were sophisticated in their construction, made the fullest use of the limited materials available locally and drew on extensive collective knowledge. Their survival depended more on the vagaries of fashion and the pressures on a depopulating countryside than on the quality of their construction or materials.

The book will appeal to all with an interest in the history and environment of Wales, readers interested in parallel cottage-building traditions in marginal lands across western Europe, and anyone who wishes to explore how lessons from the past might support sustainable living in the future.

Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas writes in his foreword to the book: It should be required reading in all schools of architecture, planning and environmental studies and ... [for those] ... whose forbears, the unsung heroes of labouring-class history, built a nation in these Welsh cottages.

CONTENTS

Foreword by Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas 7
Preface 8

Chapter 1 - INTRODUCTION 11

Home-made Homes 11
Sources 13

Chapter 2 - GEOGRAPHY AND SETTLEMENT 27

The Geography of Wales 27
Settlement History 29
Enclosures and Squatters 32

Chapter 3 - TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS IN WALES 43

Vernacular Building 43
Farmhouses 47
Cottagers and Cottages 51
The Ty Unnos 53
Plans and Condition 64

Chapter 4- WALLS 83

Stone 83
Mortar 98
Earth 103
Timber 115
Bricks 130
Doors and Windows 133
Exterior Decoration 139

Chapter 5 - ROOFS 145

Thatch: Introduction 145
Scollop or Glamorgan thatch 150
Thrust thatch 162
Roped thatch 1 79
'Mixed' thatching 183
Other thatching materials and techniques 184
Slate 189
Chimneys 199

Chapter 6 - INTERIORS 205

Floors 205
Fireplaces 208
Partitions and Lofts 218
Interior Decoration 223

Chapter 7 - BUILDERS, INVESTMENTS AND LIFESTYLES 227

Builders and Investments 227
Lifestyles 232

Chapter 8 - CONCLUSIONS 241

Bibliography 261
Notes and References 271
Acknowledgements 276
Index 277

ISBN	978-1-871184-37-2

The Welsh Cottage: Building Traditions of the Rural Poor, 1750-1900 (eLyfr)