Kennixton Farmhouse and buildings

What type of building is Kennixton?

Kennixton is a typical farmhouse from Gower in south-west Wales. This part of Wales has been English-speaking since Norman times, and has its own traditions and ways of farming.

When was Kennixton farmhouse built?

Kennixton was first built in 1610 as a two-storey house – one room downstairs (which is now the parlour), and one room upstairs. Around 1680 a large kitchen was added to serve as the main living space. It was extended again around 1750 when a back kitchen was added at right angles to the main building.

New outbuildings were added around 1850 by the sixth generation of the family. The cow stall next to the farmhouse is where they milked cows by hand. The stone steps outside led to a hay loft. The barn was the most important building, where the family stored crops: wheat for making bread, barley for the cattle and pigs, and oats for the horses. Across the yard was the calves’ cotts – a small building for rearing calves.

The farmhouse was donated to the Museum in 1952 by its then owner, Mr J.B. Rogers. At this time the family were still using the outbuildings. By 2007 these buildings were no longer suitable for modern farming, and they were offered to the Museum by Glyn Rogers to re-create the original farmstead.

The farmhouse in its original location, in 1952.

Who lived at Kennixton farmhouse?

It was home to the Rogers family for hundreds of years. They rented the house when it was built in 1610. Two hundred years later, they had done well enough to buy the farm.

The farmhouse is shown as it would have been around 1800 when Leyshon Rogers lived there with his wife Ruth and their three children: John, 16 years old, Mary, 13 years old and Leyshon who was 5. It’s likely that there would also have been a maid and a farm labourer living there.

How could the family afford to buy Kennixton?

Because of the Napoleonic wars, the early 1800s were boom years for Welsh farming. During this period, food imports from Europe stopped, pushing up the price of corn produced by British farmers. This meant that the Rogers family were quite comfortable financially.

Why is Kennixton farmhouse red?

Red was a common colour for houses in Gower, but there are conflicting opinions as to why some houses were coloured red. Some believed that the colour would keep away evil spirits and protect the inhabitants. But it could be that the colour of the walls merely reflected the fact that the family could afford to put pigment in the whitewash.

There are two carved figures inside the door which were also thought to protect the inhabitants from evil.

Did you know?

A box-bed by the fire in the living area was a particular feature of Gower homes.

“I slept in a cupboard bed … up to the age of 13. It was very comfortable … you undressed by the fire in the night, then there was always a good fire in the morning. I didn’t need central heating at all."

Glyn Rogers, recorded in 1983.

In the courtyard at the back of the house there is a goose pen. The goose would have warned the family of approaching visitors, just like a guard dog.