Higher Cross House

Higher Cross House

House, early 19th century. Built of hammer-dressed millstone grit laid in water-shot coursing, with a graduated stone slate roof and modern roof covering to a single-storey extension.

The house is attached to the south end of Higher Cross Farm (dated 1746) and is two storeys taller than the farmhouse. It incorporates the original external gable doorway and ground floor of the south-east corner of Higher Cross Farm, with an opening cut through the farm's original exterior east wall to access a single-storey extension.

The front elevation faces west overlooking the valley and features tripartite windows on both ground and first floors with squared stone frames. The central windows have two-over-two light hung sashes, with four-pane fixed lights to either side. To the left is a doorway with squared monolithic stone lintel and a first-floor window with squared stone frame. The rear (east) elevation has a five-light window on the ground floor with a main lintel and recessed inner lintel with square-faced stone mullions chamfered to the inside, and a central opening casement. On the first floor is a similar long horizontal window, now with two stone mullions and modern casements, originally with four mullions. The south gable wall has two first-floor two-light windows, now blocked, with squared stone frames and recessed central mullion. The building has two stone gable stacks with shaped kneelers to the outer south gable wall.

Internally, the west doorway opens into a narrow hall with staircase against the left wall with flat stick balusters and ramped mahogany handrail. To the right are two doorways with moulded architraves: a six-panelled door to the front room and a four-panelled door to the rear room. Both rooms have fireplaces with replacement chimney-pieces and stack side cupboards with panelled doors in the rear room. The front room's tripartite window has moulded wooden panelling to the interior with reeding to the mullions. The rear room has chamfered stone mullions with holes for metal saddle bars. Exposed timber beams are marked with cipher marks. Behind the entrance hall is a pantry with a lower four-panelled door and stone-flagged floor. Beneath the staircase is the original gable doorway of Higher Cross Farm, with door rebates on its north side and original iron door pintles. The first floor contains a bedroom and bathroom to the front and two bedrooms to the rear, with a recent attic conversion. The roof is pitch pine with queen post construction, two rows of staggered purlins to each side with pegged tusked tenons, and a narrow ridge board.

A coursed millstone grit garden wall is attached to the west elevation with chamfered coping stones to the south wall, which incorporates a gateway, and squared coping stones to the stepped west wall and north return wall. A coursed millstone grit retaining wall runs parallel to the east elevation, abutting a coal shed at its north end.

Built against the north-east corner of the house is a single-storey extension with an adjoining coal shed, constructed between 1906 and 1913.

Historical Context

Higher Cross House is shown on an enclosure map of 1822 attached to the south end of Higher Cross Farm. The group of buildings was built and owned by the Radcliffe family and remained in single ownership until the early 20th century. The use of tripartite windows in the front elevation suggests the house was built in the early 19th century, as similar windows were used in Uppermill, the closest nucleated habitation, in the first two decades of the 19th century.