Wayside

Wayside is a linear two-storey house with a 17th-century three-room main range and an 18th-century cross-wing attached to the north side, forming an irregular L-shape. A late 19th- or early 20th-century lean-to porch also extends from the north side. A mid- to late 20th-century flat-roofed single-storey extension on the south side is not of special interest.

The 17th-century range originally had a lobby-entry plan, with the central and eastern rooms heated from the outset and heating added to the western ground-floor room later. The 18th-century north range incorporates the main stair, and the western half of this range is not accessible internally from the rest of the house.

Exterior

The 17th-century three-room range is built of dressed sandstone blocks of varying size with quoining to each corner and tooled stonework. The building's roof has been raised twice: first between the original construction and the addition of the 18th-century north range, and again when that range was added, the second raising affecting only the north side of the building. Changes in stonework, window positions, and the internal roof structure confirm these alterations.

The principal south elevation faces a large garden and has three bays with three large windows to the first floor. All windows throughout the building have modern uPVC glazing. Stone jambs adjacent to the lower parts of the windows reveal the location of original window openings, and further jambs immediately below the eaves indicate the later raising of the roof to incorporate a half-attic, which has since been removed and replaced by larger windows. The outer bays of the ground floor have similarly sized windows to those above, with deep painted wedge lintels and sills. The right-hand window is now hidden by the mid- to late 20th-century flat-roofed sunroom extension, which also encloses a large mullioned window, probably of five lights, that has been blocked up and converted into French doors (visible internally). To the left of centre, aligned with a rebuilt brick chimneystack, is a window that appears to have originated as a doorway and is believed to have formed the original entrance.

The western end of the 17th-century range has a later hip to the roof, which joins with an 18th-century extension attached to the rear left of the building. The west return wall of the 17th-century range has a three-light mullioned window to the ground floor and a two-light mullioned window to the first floor, both with stone surrounds. To the ground-floor right is a large stone indicative of a blocked-up opening; a possible small blocked-up arched opening is visible internally. Attached to the left, beyond the original range's quoined corner, is the west wall of a two-storey 18th-century extension, which has mainly been rebuilt in brickwork following fire damage. The first floor has a later inserted window. Attached to this extension is a single-storey gabled stone and brick outbuilding with plank and batten doors to the south and east sides, and garage doors also to the east. The outbuilding's roof coverings have mostly been removed, but it retains a stone ball and pyramidal finial.

The 17th-century range's east elevation is blind and has a catslide roof due to the second raising of the north side of the roof, probably in the 18th century, which would have enabled additional height in the interior off the stair landing and first-floor room entrances. A chimneystack that must have existed at this eastern end, due to the presence of interior fireplaces, has since been removed.

The 17th-century range's north wall has a three-light mullioned window to the eastern end of the ground floor and a two-light mullioned window to the first floor above, both with surrounds in the same style as those to the west elevation. The surviving fabric suggests that both windows were originally wider with additional lights: the first-floor window was of three lights (the third blocked-up light is visible internally), whilst the ground-floor window was probably of four or five lights. The additional lights appear to have been blocked up following the addition of the 18th-century north range and stair.

Projecting from the 17th-century range's north wall is a two-storey 18th-century cross-gabled range with a slightly lower lean-to stair tower set to the eastern side and forming a continuous outshut. The stair is lit by a tall mid- to late 18th-century round-headed window with a painted ashlar surround incorporating a prominent keystone. Attached in front and obscuring most of the window is a late 19th- or early 20th-century lean-to brick porch with an entrance door to the east side. Projecting forward of the stair tower is the gable end of the 18th-century range, part of which to the western half has been rebuilt in mellow red brick following fire damage. Rising from the roof is a slender brick chimneystack. To the left of centre on each floor are windows in the same style as those to the ground floor of the south elevation. To the ground-floor right is a 19th-century plank and batten door with a deep wedge lintel. Above and also to the right of the door are later inserted windows, which light a store and first-floor workshop that are not accessible internally from the rest of the building.

Interior

Internally there are mainly tiled and floorboard floors. A number of walls in the 17th-century range are covered with exposed daub or mud plaster. Most internal doors have been removed, but two 19th-century five-panel doors and an early three-plank plank and batten door with tapered strap hinges survive. The building's mullioned windows are all set within deep reveals and most have substantial timber lintels internally.

The central room of the 17th-century range contains a large fire bay to the western side with an inserted 18th-century stone fireplace, partly hidden by plaster, with corbelled jambs. The original fireplace opening has been bricked up and a later, smaller opening inserted. Two chamfered beams cross the room from north to south with simple run-outs, and French doors leading into the 1970s sunroom have been inserted through a large stone mullioned window, probably originally of four or five lights, to the south wall. The dividing wall between the central room and a room to the east, now divided into two rooms and a hallway, is constructed of stone and brick. The south-eastern room contains a rebuilt brick stack with a probable 18th-century painted fire surround and a cast-iron basket, whilst the north-eastern room, now a bathroom, is lit by a three-light mullioned window; the window's additional blocked-up or removed lights are not visible internally.

The westernmost ground-floor room is also lit by a three-light mullioned window and has two beams running east to west with probable early 19th-century roll mouldings to the outer edges, flanking a brick chimneybreast. To the north wall is a blocked-up window opening and to the south wall is a blocked-up door opening. This room is linked to the central room via a south passageway adjacent to the central stack where the former main entrance is located, now a window. A similar passageway on the north side of the stack has been blocked by a later angled brick wall inserted in the central room, and access is now provided from the western room into a former kitchen in the rear 18th-century range, which contains a tall painted-timber fire surround to the north wall.

An 18th-century dog-leg stair with a curtail step and ramped wall string lies to the rear right of the building and is enclosed to the lower flight. The upper flight has a boxed-in balustrade and it is unknown whether any balusters survive underneath. The stair is lit at half-landing level by a mid-18th-century round-headed stair window with a stone surround incorporating tooling work and a prominent keystone. The arched upper light has been blocked up. Off to the south side of the first-floor landing are two doorways leading into the 17th-century range, whilst two steps to the west side lead up into a room in the 18th-century range.

The easternmost first-floor room in the 17th-century range has a rebuilt brick chimneybreast with a bricked-up fireplace opening to the east wall with a tooled stone lintel. A three-light mullioned window exists to the north wall; the far-left light has been blocked up due to the addition of the 18th-century stair tower. Separating it from the central room is a plastered partition wall with a visible truss above with angle struts and a mud plaster covering, suggesting that these rooms were always partitioned. The central room has a brick and stone chimneybreast with a fireplace opening incorporating a tooled stone lintel; a later mid-19th-century cast-iron insert has been removed and lies within the room. A blocked-up two-light mullioned window exists to the north wall, the external face of which is contained within the 18th-century range, and another small blocked-up opening exists to the south wall above the former main entrance. At least one jamb from a former half-attic window is also visible to the south wall. A doorway to the north side of the stack leads into the westernmost room, which incorporates a two-light mullioned window and a slender rebuilt brick chimneybreast with no fireplace opening, suggesting that this room was never heated. The first-floor room in the 18th-century range to the rear has a slender brick chimneybreast to the north wall with no opening, again suggesting that this room was also never heated.

Ceilings have been removed throughout the main rooms of the first floor, leaving the roof structure exposed. Early timbers, including purlins and rafters, are all visible. The roof in the 17th-century range also clearly indicates the various stages of roof raising, and the 18th-century range is separately gabled.

The interiors of the ground-floor store and first-floor workshop in the 18th-century range, possibly related to Cronton's tool-making and watch-making history, were not inspected.