Penwhilwr - Strawbale, Stone, Post & Beams

Although we are best known for community buildings of various shapes and sizes, HBC will never turn down the opportunity to work on other types of buildings with a unique character. If you check the Gallery section of the site you can see a selection of the variety of sustainable vernaculer structures which we both love and aspire to.

So it came to pass that we had the opportunity in September 2003 to work in conjunction with Barbara Jones of Amazon Nails, and other volunteers on a unique personal dwelling called Penwhilwr, being built for the artist Rachel Whitehead.

In essence this very personal house is really just an extension of the ideas and values Rachel has already been living by for the last two years, as can be seen by the unique structure she created LINK: Rachel's Hut

Startling View

The site includes about an acre of terraced woodland overlooking the village of St Dogmaels and the Teifi Estuary near Cardigan on the west Wales coastline. It was originally occupied by a ruin - one of the oldest buildings in the village - and served as a lookout for St Dogmaels Abbey (also now in ruins) to alert them when pirates were approaching.

PLANS
After two years dialogue with Pembrokeshire Planning Authority she finally received planning permission to build a sustainable house. The idea was to use the stone from the original ruin for the bottom floor, with a tower shape for the bathroom plus three arched windows and a curved staircase - mirroring the abbey's form.

The staircase will lead up to the first floor open space. Strawbales and timber frames are to be utilised for the top floor which Rachel plans to use as a studio. Her bedroom will be located in the loft.