Since around 1650 this remarkable house has stood in the eastern corner of Monmouthshire, just a hundred yards away from Offa’s Dyke. Back then, it was a real status symbol to build your house out of bricks, rather than stone.
owner: Teona-Dorrien Smith
location: Llanfihangel-Ystern-Llewern style: An ancient red-brick house best feature: The kitchen
Other features, such as the porch with a room above it, mark it out as being built by a wealthy family.
Some of the features of the house are original, such as the fireplace that is a centrepiece to the living room downstairs, and the stone tiles, that still line the edge of the roof. Other features have been added during the 350 years of the house’s existence, such as the bread oven built in to the fireplace.
When the present owners bought the property, it was in a poor state of repair, and it has taken several years to get it back into shape. Now the house is rented out to film and television companies as a location for period dramas. In addition to the human occupiers, the house is also home to a colony of bats in the cellar.
