Originally a ‘‘sub-medieval’’ timber-framed house of Peter Smith’s  ‘‘Lobby Entrance Houses’’ dating to the later years of the 16th century.
The house is orientated NW-SE on a flat recessed area before a rising hill (as the Welsh name Cil-Rhiew would appear to suggest).
A porch on the NW side suggests that this was a standard ‘‘lobby-entrance’’ house and there is a large rectangular stone chimney stack which is placed directly in front of the entrance, originally forming a lobby.

The chimney stack, consisting of three brick chimneys of stellar form,  is a fine example of type that occurs in the last two or three decades of the 16th century in this area.
Peter Smith in Houses of the Welsh Countryside has mapped the occurrence of these chimney stacks (including Cilthriew), which are distributed mainly in North West Wales, along the border with England.

 The existence of an ornate doorhead cut into a wall plate at 1st floor level, may represent an early alteration to the house.

Major alterations were made in the late 18th century or more probably in the 1840s, when Cilthriew was acquired by the Brynllywarch Estates.
The house was transected by two stone wings (at right angles and aligned NE-SW) which override the earlier timber-framed structure.
The timber-framed structure survives within the stone wings, but it was then chopped off to the off to the SW.
When the house was altered it was re-roofed with very fine massive tun slates above the eaves and with graduated slates up to the ridge.
This is a very rare survival of a technique common in the 18th century, but in this case it may later.
At the N E in the angle between the timber framed house and the stone wing is a slightly sunken room, described as a ‘’cellar’’, but almost certainly a dairy, as it would have been ideal for cooling milk.

Brick ranges have been added to the SW with a doorway and a dormer with two arched windows above.
This has been done in a ‘‘Tudoresque ‘’ or Jacobethan style and must be contemporary with the carved bargeboards on the gables and shaped brackets on either side of an upper chamber window on the timber framed section.
These additions give Cilthriew a Cottage orné appearance suggesting that it is the work of an estate architecture, working for the Naylors,  most probably John Wilkes Poundley, who published "Poundley’s Cottage Architecture" in 1857.
Originally a ‘‘sub-medieval’’ timber-framed house of Peter Smith’s  ‘‘Lobby Entrance Houses’’ dating to the later years of the 16th century. The house is orientated NW-SE on a flat recessed area before a rising hill (as the Welsh name Cil-Rhiew would appear to suggest). A porch on the NW side suggests that this was a standard ‘‘lobby-entrance’’ house and there is a large rectangular stone chimney stack which is placed directly in front of the entrance, originally forming a lobby. 
The chimney stack, consisting of three brick chimneys of stellar form,  is a fine example of type that occurs in the last two or three decades of the 16th century in this area. Peter Smith in Houses of the Welsh Countryside has mapped the occurrence of these chimney stacks (including Cilthriew), which are distributed mainly in North West Wales, along the border with England. 
 The existence of an ornate doorhead cut into a wall plate at 1st floor level, may represent an early alteration to the house.
Major alterations were made in the late 18th century or more probably in the 1840s, when Cilthriew was acquired by the Brynllywarch Estates. The house was transected by two stone wings (at right angles and aligned NE-SW) which override the earlier timber-framed structure. The timber-framed structure survives within the stone wings, but it was then chopped off to the off to the SW. When the house was altered it was re-roofed with very fine massive tun slates above the eaves and with graduated slates up to the ridge. This is a very rare survival of a technique common in the 18th century, but in this case it may later. At the N E in the angle between the timber framed house and the stone wing is a slightly sunken room, described as a ‘’cellar’’, but almost certainly a dairy, as it would have been ideal for cooling milk.
Brick ranges have been added to the SW with a doorway and a dormer with two arched windows above. This has been done in a ‘‘Tudoresque ‘’ or Jacobethan style and must be contemporary with the carved bargeboards on the gables and shaped brackets on either side of an upper chamber window on the timber framed section. These additions give Cilthriew a Cottage orné appearance suggesting that it is the work of an estate architecture, working for the Naylors,  most probably John Wilkes Poundley, who published "Poundley’s Cottage Architecture" in 1857.
Cilthriew, Kerry (Montgomeryshire)