Nobody has lived in Penrhos Cottage for 55 years.
And its incredible history dates even further back to the early 1800s when it was first built under the laws of a tradition completely unique to Wales.
Sat on a quiet road in the Pembrokeshire countryside, the 200-year-old thatched house is a rare surviving example of the country’s ancient home-building folklore known as tŷ unnos.
Directly translated to ‘one night house’ in English, it ruled that if someone could build a property between dusk and dawn and have a fire smoking from the chimney by first light it was legally theirs.
They would also own all the land within an axe throw of the front door.
This particular rural whitewashed cottage near the village of Llanycefn was later rebuilt in 1849 using stone and clom – a mixture of clay, mud and straw.
Houses like this would normally be replaced by a more permanent structure once the builder’s claim to the land had been established, according to the BBC, making it all the more special that it still stands today.
Its last owners were two elderly sisters Maria and Rachel Williams who lived there until Rachel died at the age of 82 in 1968.
Maria, a midwife, moved to a nearby village following her sister’s death – and the house has stood frozen in time ever since.
Once you step inside, you are truly taken back through the centuries to a largely bygone era.
Perhaps even more remarkably, the home in south-west Wales has been left exactly as it was when it was vacated by the siblings five decades ago.
The table and chairs still stand in the same spot in the kitchen – and the old cast iron kettle even remains in place atop the stove inside the fireplace.
Cobwebs, dust and debris now sit scattered on the kitchen range, but other than that, the house looks exactly the same as it did when Maria and Rachel were pictured there in the ‘60s.
Fascinating images give an insight to the simple life the sisters enjoyed at Penrhos Cottage where they once winched their water supply from a well.
The home still features a Welsh dresser filled with china cups and plates, as well as original pieces of furniture and wall art.
‘I have great memories from when we were little kids,’ said Eifion Evans, 67, who used to live next door.
‘We used the catch the bus outside and come up here beforehand to say hello to Maria and Rachel.
‘In the afternoon when we came from school they’d have a big box of sweets and there’d be a sweet for each of us, or a little biscuit or chocolate.
‘They had chickens and a little garden in which to grow vegetables. It was a very simple life.
‘They were two very kind sisters and very fond of children – I consider myself to be one of Penrhos’ children.’
Given its fascinating past and role as a modern day treasure, villagers are now trying to maintain the cottage to ensure it’s protected.
Locals have set up a campaign group to attract volunteers and funding to repair the home after it was bought by the council in the 1970s.
Mr Evans, a community councillor, said: ‘It would be nice to open it up again as a museum so people can come and visit.
‘I think it’s the only ‘tŷ unnos’ in Pembrokeshire and it’s something very close to my heart.’
Another anecdote of the cottage’s history is that it was once home to a family as large as 12 even though it started out with just two rooms – the kitchen and sleeping quarters.
Campaigner Hefin Wyn, who is a local author and journalist, said the property is ‘an absolute treasure’.
He said: ‘It was built originally as a “one night house” and that suggests that things were pretty poor in the area in those days, around the time of the Rebecca Riots.
‘Lots of people are interested and there are lots of volunteers ready. We’ll have to look for money from some other institutions to get it up to scratch so we can invite people to visit the place.
‘I’m sure after we’ve done the work, we can have volunteers here at certain times of the week to welcome people and tell them the old story about the place and who lived there.’
A new group, called Friends of Penrhos, is being set up ahead of a village hall meeting to discuss the future of the cottage.
Pembrokeshire Council said it was ‘open to working with a constituted working group to preserve this important building and make it more accessible’.
Earlier this year, an urban explorer uncovered a mysterious ‘fairytale’ house that had been left to rot, while an abandoned school was found untouched for more than 50 years with textbooks still inside.
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