History
The Restoration
The cottage dates back to the late 18th century. When we took it over it had not been lived in for decades and was seriously neglected. There were no utilities and even had earth floors in some rooms with a tree growing through the roof! Prior to us the cottage had various inhabitants including an artist from Liverpool. You can see from the photos the original state.
The Stepping Stones
From around 1844 many great painters visited the vicinity of the cottage. They included the famous Victorian painter David Cox, who formed Britain’s first great artist colony in Betws Y Coed. They were inspired by the beauty of the surrounding area including the 12th century St Michael’s church further upstream and perhaps more notably the famous ‘Stepping Stones’ directly in front of the cottage. You can see two such paintings on this page and even see the cottage in the background.
