Top Of The Town

Top of the Town is a farmhouse dating from the early 17th century, with alterations made in the early 19th century. The building features roughcast on brickwork and timber framing, topped with an old tile roof. It has two storeys and an attic, arranged in a four-bay cross wings plan. The end bays are gabled and project outward. The front door is half glazed with leaded glazing and has a bead and flush design below. This door is sheltered by a half glazed porch that has a pitched roof, shaped barge boards, and timbers in the apex.

The windows are flush casements with glazing bars, cambered arches, and two-course terracotta weathered sills. A brick dentil course runs along the eaves, and the gables display exposed purlin ends and barge boards. The rear gable end features close studding with a middle rail, jetties at the first floor and gable, and carved consoles. There is a blocked window on the ground floor and the remains of a projecting mullioned window on the first floor. The building has chimneys on the main ridge and the brick sides of the cross wings.

Inside, there are ovolo-moulded beams in two rooms and large exposed ceiling joists. A single flight staircase with turned balusters leads to the first floor, where deep bevelled beams with bar-stops can be found in two rooms, along with more exposed ceiling joists. In the attic, there are large square purlins, a ridge-tree, exposed oak rafters, and a wide-boarded door on strap hinges.