The former Cider House on Boughrood Brest is now Tygwyn and is roofed with slates not thatch. The pond – which ducks are enjoying in the photograph and which provided the water for cider-making – has been filled in. The green lane on the right of the photograph is now tarmacked. No one has recently visited the house wearing a top hat.
A clever reader of the inscription preserved with the photograph may suspect that the date is February 1889: the time of day is certainly 3.15. It is possible to read the heading, Brest-bach Boughrood. A very very clever reader may be able to read the rest.
A note on the back of the photograph records the sale of what was then called Brest Cottage to Sarah James, wife of William James, Boatside, Boughrood for the sum of £220 on 1/5/22.
The Cider House was part of the Glangwye Estate which was part of the Gwernyfed Estate. Farmers and farm managers in this part of Wales were expected to provide their workers with cider.