Brogyntyn - Swiss Cottage

The two lakes of Brogyntyn were formed by 1800, by damming the Mill Dingle. A rustic bridge once crossed the head of the dam between them. The extant bridge is a modern replacement.

The lakes were linked by a 30 foot high waterfall, formed of Pulhamite, an anthropic rock. There were two types of this. One was a stone-coloured terracotta, for moulding garden and architectural ornaments such as fountains and balustrades. The other, employed here, was a render, of hydraulic lime, sand and other aggregates, over a masonry former, used for constructing rockeries and the like.

A boathouse that once stood at the south end of the upper pool has gone, but Brogyntyn Cottage, to the west of the same pool, adjoining Whit(e)well Lane, remains.

Known as Swiss Cottage, this was built in the early nineteenth century, in the Gothick style. The three-sided verandah is framed by rustic columns and 'capitals', and sports walls studded with quartz nodules.

































There are outbuildings cut into the slope of the land (below). Although Grade II listed (1987), the cottage is ruinous. The stained glass has gone.

The condition of the fine rococo interior is unknown. This included ogee windows and inset bookcases, which once housed false books, the titles of which alluded to the romantically concealed nature of the cottage.

Across the lane is a pumping house, belonging to the estate, still supplying water to 13 nearby properties.