Little Pitt Cottage Explained

Little Pitt Cottage
Type:medieval house
Location:Monmouthshire, Wales
Coordinates:51.7844°N -2.9162°W
Gbgridref:SO 3689 0992
Designation1:Grade II*
Designation1 Offname:Little Pitt Cottage
Designation1 Date:9 January 1956
Designation1 Number:1974
Designation1 Free1name:Community
Designation1 Free1value:Llanarth
Designation2 Free2name:Principal area
Designation2 Free2value:Monmouthshire
Built:mid 16th century

Little Pitt Cottage is a medieval house in Llanarth, Monmouthshire, South Wales. It was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1956, its listing record describing it as a "fine and exceptionally intact timber-framed house".

History and description

The house has a cruck trussed gable, with an exposed timber frame and four monumental centred doorways, modified to form a three-unit plan in the 17th century. The architectural historian John Newman describes the cottage as "the most completely surviving cruck-truss hall house in the county". The windows have timber lintels under a painted stone dripmould. The ends of beams for the inserted hall floor are visible. Sir Cyril Fox and Lord Raglan, in the first of their three-volume history of vernacular architecture Monmouthshire Houses, give a detailed description of the cottage, with plans and illustrations. Peter Smith, in his work, Houses of the Welsh Countryside, describes Little Pitt as "a good example" of the hall house plan.

The house was, and remains, part of the Llanarth estate and is Grade II* listed.[1]

Sources

. John Newman (architectural historian). The Buildings of Wales. Gwent/Monmouthshire. 2000. Penguin. London. 0-14-071053-1.

. Peter Smith (architectural historian). Houses of the Welsh Countryside. 1988. Her Majesty's Stationery Office . London. 9-78011-300012-8.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Property Lettings Near Monmouth . The Llanarth Estate. 23 August 2017.