Low Ardley Farmhouse And Adjacent Farmbuildings

Low Ardley Farmhouse, which may incorporate a 16th-century bastle or tower, was remodeled and enlarged in the 18th century and altered in the 19th and 20th centuries. The adjacent farm buildings date from the early 19th century. The farmhouse is constructed of rubble, with the earliest part featuring large rubble and megalithic quoins, while the farm buildings have rubble with tooled-and-margined quoins and dressings, topped with slate roofs.

The farmhouse has a T-shaped plan, and the L-shaped range of farm buildings is attached to the north end of the house’s cross-wing, with a gingang on the west. The south elevation is divided into two parts: on the left is a projecting gabled cross-wing with 20th-century casements (the upper one in an older doorway opening), a coped gable with moulded kneelers, and a finial. To the right is a two-storey, two-bay block featuring two late 19th-century four-pane sash windows above a 20th-century glazed conservatory. The right gable is coped with moulded kneelers and has a stepped and corniced ridge with right end stacks.

The left return shows a former three-light mullioned window (with one mullion removed) that has 20th-century glazing but retains an old moulded label, along with a blocked slit to the right and a late 19th-century four-pane sash window above. The left end stack is stepped and corniced. To the left, the farm building range includes a projecting round-ended gingang with boarded openings and timber lintels, topped with a conical roof. The roof of the main range is hipped to the left.

Inside, the cross-wing of the house has very thick walls, measuring two meters on the north side. Its almost square plan suggests it may be the remains of a tower or an early bastle.