Close House

This is a farmhouse, now a house, dating back to the 17th century, with possible alterations and extensions. A lintel above the rear door is inscribed with the date 1638, although the building likely comprises two distinct phases of construction. It is built of coursed sandstone rubble with quoins, painted white, and has a roof of stone slate to the front and slate to the right gable, incorporating coping and kneelers. The house is in an L-shape, composed of a two-bay baffle-entry range with a recessed two-bay left wing.

The two-storey main range has a large, gabled porch-cum-stairturret, with an offset doorway to the right featuring a roll-moulded surround and hoodmould. Above the doorway is a chamfered round-headed window. A stairlight window is to the left, also with a hoodmould. The porch has stone gable coping with kneelers. There are also double-chamfered windows on each floor to the left. The mullions have been removed from most of these windows, except for the ground floor window to the left, which retains a hoodmould, and the one next to the porch, where the right end is obscured by the porch itself, suggesting an early addition of the porch. To the right of the porch is a low, gabled addition covering much of the second bay, which now has modern openings to the front and rear, and a lean-to against the gable wall.

The left wing, facing east, has a former doorway, originally offset to the right of centre, which has been altered into a window. It also features two double-chamfered windows on each floor, also lacking mullions. The left gable has a chimney, and both gables have stone copings. The rear re-entrant wall of the left wing has a doorway with a lintel in relief bearing the inscription "1638," now concealed by the outer door.

The rear of the main range has mullioned windows of two and three lights at ground floor, and one and three above, the smaller windows being firewindows.

Inside the main part of the house, there is a large inglenook fireplace with a stone heck (containing a triangular peephole) and stop-chamfered bressummer. Two longitudinal beams are similarly decorated. An upper chamber has a timber-framed corridor partition. The main range has a roof with exceptionally long purlins, the ends of which are carried through a stone partition to the wing. There are vacant windbrace housings, which suggest the reuse of timber. The wing has a principal-rafter roof truss with small angle struts and remains of clamstaff and daub infilling in the apex. The second bay of the main range was once a shippon (cow shed).