The Bent Farmhouse

The Bent Farmhouse is a 17th-century farmhouse, with restoration work carried out in 1880 and attributed to John Douglas. A dedication, "Built R.D. A.D:1600 R.E.E.W Restored A.D:1880" (Richard Drinkwater and Roland Eyles Egerton-Warburton), is inscribed on a tie beam. The farmhouse is constructed with a stone plinth, a brick front with terracotta dressings, restored timber-framed gables, and a box-framed rear with brick nogging, all under a clay tile roof. It is a large example of a three-unit baffle-entry plan with a projecting crosswing – originally a kitchen and parlour – to the right of the main house-part, and further utility rooms to the right of the crosswing. There are five bays to the left of the crosswing and two bays to the right. Features include a continuous hoodmould, lozenge-shaped decorative brickwork to the first-floor level, and overhanging eaves. The windows are mostly 2-, 3- and 4-light designs with ovolo-moulded terracotta mullions and cast iron casements with glazing bars; specific details include one 1-light window, three 3-light windows and one 4-light window on the first floor. A 19th-century porch is located in the third bay, and gables over bays 3, 4 and 5 feature enriched bressumers and finials. Three bays of box framing are visible at the rear, with remnants in the crosswing, including a blocked 3-light ovolo-moulded timber mullion window and diagonal braces. A projecting stone bay with chamfered mullion windows is part of the house-part. There are three decorative brick chimney stacks. The interior retains 17th-century ovolo-moulded beams throughout the ground floor, including a bressumer beam above an inglenook fireplace with a former fire-window. A bay window incorporates Jacobean, and potentially older, oak panelling. The farmhouse is considered a good early example, enhanced by the interesting restoration work by John Douglas.