Kennixton Farmhouse

Kennixton Farmhouse is a 17th-century farmhouse originally built at Kennexstone, Llangennith, Gower, and currently located at St Fagans National History Museum, Cardiff, Wales.[2] It is a Grade II listed building.[1]

Kennixton Farmhouse
Kennixton Farmhouse in 2012 after the farm buildings were added
LocationSt Fagans National History Museum, Cardiff
Coordinates51.4866°N 3.2736°W / 51.4866; -3.2736
Built1610, 1680 and c. 1750
Rebuilt1952
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameKennixton Farmhouse
Designated10 June 1977
Reference no.13850[1]

The house was built around 1610, and extended over a period. Inside can be seen an example of a box-bed or "cupboard bed" and a sleeping platform over the fireplace, typical of houses in the Gower peninsula at this period.[3][4] Its exterior walls are painted a bright red; the original pigment included ox blood and lime and may have been intended as a kind of charm against witches.[5] Another theory is that it simply showed that the family were rich enough to be able to afford this type of pigment.

The main living room or "kitchen" is an addition, dating from around 1680, as is the wooden staircase and sleeping area above it. The walls of the dining room (originally the only ground-floor room) are painted with a stencilled decoration of a type which pre-dates the general use of wallpaper.[3] This room was used as the interior of Captain Blamey's cottage in the filming of the BBC's 2015 drama series, Poldark.[6]

The farmhouse was donated to the museum (then called the Welsh Folk Museum) in 1951 by its then owner, Mr J B Rogers.[7] It was one of the first properties to be rebuilt at the museum, which opened in 1948, and finance for carrying out the work was provided by the profits from the 1951 Festival of Britain. The farm buildings (the barn and calves cotts) that originally stood by the house were not originally, but were added when they were donated to the museum in the early 2000s and relocated to St Fagans.[8]

  • Kennixton Farmhouse in 2007, before the farm buildings were added
    Kennixton Farmhouse in 2007, before the farm buildings were added
  • Interior of Kennixton Farmhouse showing stencilled wall decoration
    Interior of Kennixton Farmhouse showing stencilled wall decoration
  • Four-poster bed and cot (left)
    Four-poster bed and cot (left)
  • Kitchen table
    Kitchen table

References
  1. "Kennixton Farmhouse, St Fagans". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  2. Historical Buildings – St Fagans: National History Museum – Kennixton Farmhouse. Accessed 27 September 2013
  3. Gathering the Jewels: Kennixton Farmhouse interior Archived 2013-12-11 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 27 September 2013
  4. Gathering the Jewels: Cupboard bed, Kennixton Farmhouse. Accessed 27 September 2013
  5. National Museum of Wales Press Release, "Kennixton — Blood Red Farmhouse celebrates 50 years at St Fagans: National History Museum", 9 December 2005. Accessed 28 September 2013
  6. Amgueddfa Blog: "Through the Keyhole in Kennixton". 22 May 2015. Accessed 15 September 2015
  7. Kennixton farmhouse Gower to Welsh Folk Museum Cardiff – Relocated Structures on Waymarking.com. Accessed 27 September 2013
  8. Kennixton Farmhouse and buildings. Accessed 27 September 2013

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