Planning committee approves listed building consent to repair rare Welsh goose sty

Richard Youle – Local democracy reporter

A council planning committee has approved listed building consent to repair a rare mid 19th Century goose sty.

The stone structure in Gower is grade two-listed by Welsh heritage body Cadw.

It has been described as “a very rare survival of a once-common type of farm building using an ancient building technique”.

Swansea Council’s planning committee was told the sty needs repairing and this requires listed building consent.

‘Snecking’

Councillors received an education about these striking structures at a meeting on July 1.

A council planning officer said the technique used to build them was called “corbelling” – an architectural technique where stone is placed in overlapping layers.

The matter was brought before the committee because the applicant is the council, which doesn’t own the sty but has secured funding for the repairs.

Although recorded by Cadw as a pig sty, a heritage impact assessment on behalf of the council indicated that the 2.2m high edifice, off Frog Lane, Llanmadoc, would likely have been for geese.

“It has a smaller opening than the other pig sties and the heritage impact assessment suggests that may have been a goose sty which seems plausible,” said the committee report.

The work will include clearing vegetation, stabilising loose stones, and restoring the original beehive-shaped profile.

Collapsed

Stonework at the top is missing and the low walls of the surrounding pen are partially collapsed.

The council officer told the committee that the sty likely dated from the early to mid 19th Century and had probably not been used for animals since the Second World War.

He said there were around 30 corbelled sties left in Wales, including one in Pontarddulais, and that the one in Llanmadoc was considered an at-risk listed building.

The privately-owned structure is adjacent to a footpath and a new sign telling walkers about it was proposed but then discounted.

Cllr Allan Jeffery, referring to a mention of “packing and snecking” in the committee report, asked: “I was just wondering what on earth is snecking?”

He was told it was a technique using smaller stones to fill joints giving it a dry stone wall-like appearance.

Cllr Richard Lewis said he knew now what to build if he took up pig farming. “I think it’s very interesting,” he said. “I would support it, no problem.”

Cllr Philip Downing recalled his grandfather having a similar sty and that stones from it were used to bolster the surrounding pen to accommodate goldfish. “In those days they never thought of preserving things like that,” he said. “So it’s good that we are preserving them.”

Funding

Cllr Mair Baker asked if the owner would be able to use it for animals once the work was carried out.

The officer said any further alterations would require separate consent and “probably would be resisted” by the council.

The meeting heard that 75% of the funding for the repairs was coming from environment body Natural Resources Wales although no figure was given.

The heritage impact assessment said round corbelled structures were more common in the Mediterranean and that goose pens were a feature of farms in Glamorgan from the 18th century onwards.

The one in Llanmadoc, it said, would become less and less stable if nothing was done.

The committee unanimously approved listed building consent and the application will now be referred to Cadw for consideration.

Approval had previously been given for the repair work in 2018 but it didn’t take place and the consent expired.