Birks Farmhouse And Barns Adjoining

Birks Farmhouse and associated barns likely date to 1667, with evidence of earlier remains and 19th-century alterations, and the barns probably constructed in the 18th century. The farmhouse is built of sandstone rubble with roofs of stone slate and slate. It is two storeys high, with a three-storey gabled porch. A two-light window with a plain stone surround, flat-faced mullion, and drip course is located to the right of the porch. A three-light rebated and chamfered mullioned window is on the first floor. A ground-floor door to the left of the window has plain reveals. A block to the left of the porch appears to be from the 19th century but incorporates 17th-century remains; large, projecting foundation stones suggest multiple rebuilds on the site. This section has flush chamfered mullioned windows and flat-faced hood moulds, with one three-light window on the ground floor and two two-light windows above. To the right, a re-set cyma-moulded door surround has a battlemented lintel inscribed '1680 WTE'. The porch is single-bayed and incorporates first and second-floor windows of two lights, rebated and chamfered with mullions, beneath cyma-moulded hoods treated as open pediments. A drip course is above the ground floor. The blocked door, now containing a window, has a moulded surround and a decorated lintel inscribed '1667 IT'. The porch gable has a cyma-moulded coping with kneelers. The right-hand return wall contains a three-light rebated and chamfered first-floor window with a hood, and above this, an oval opening with a cable-moulded stone surround. The house has gable chimneys. Adjoining to the right are farm buildings, with the left-hand part now integrated into the house. A wide entrance has a chamfered surround with a segmental arch, now glazed and containing a door. A door with a chamfered surround is further right, alongside an opening with plain reveals. A two-light chamfered mullioned window is further right, with one light blocked. On the first floor is a one-light chamfered window, with a shuttered opening to its right. A barn projects at right angles to the right, with breathers in its front wall. A lean-to is attached to the barn's right, featuring a wide entrance with plain reveals.