Gate End Farmhouse

Farmhouse. Dating from the 16th century or earlier, the farmhouse includes an 18th-century rear wing and subsequent alterations, notably early 20th-century rendering and re-roofing. The main range is timber-framed, with the ground floor faced in roughly-squared limestone and the first floor in brick, featuring brick gables and stacks. The gable end and rear are colourwashed, with the first floor front rough-rendered. The rear wing is constructed from colourwashed coursed limestone rubble with brick dressings and a stack. Slate covers the main range roof, with pantiles on the hipped gable and rear wing. The building is L-shaped, consisting of a five-bay timber-framed main range with four rooms and an entrance/stair hall to the left of centre, and a single-room rear wing with an outshut. It has two storeys and an irregular window arrangement. Stone quoins are present on the ground floor left side; the first floor has brick quoins to the left and a wooden board marking the right angle. Four stone steps lead to a recessed plank door within a wooden architrave, topped by a concrete lintel. A datestone to the right is inscribed “IW 1739”. A 16-pane sliding sash window is located to the left, followed by a three-light sliding sash with glazing bars and a 16-pane sliding sash to the right. A plain wooden board is at first floor level, with rendering above. Three 12-pane first floor sliding sashes are present, all with lintels at eaves level; these windows are replacements dating from around 1975. The roof is steeply pitched and hipped to the left, with three axial stacks. The return side, facing Silver Street, features a ground floor sliding sash beneath a segmental brick arch, a 17th-18th century brick upper section with three-course dentilled brick bands at first floor and eaves level, and 19th-century decorative barge boards. A double-course dentilled brick first-floor band is present on the rear wing. Inside, spine beams in two ground floor rooms are supported on a timber post exhibiting broach-stopped chamfers and roll moulding; timber posts, tie beams, and wall plates are exposed on the first floor. The central truss retains a single arch brace. The roof, spanning eight or nine bays, has been partially rebuilt and truncated by the hip, with clasped purlins and raking struts from tie beams to arched collars. Surviving timber framing suggests a late medieval open hall flanked by single rooms with chambers above, with a floor inserted in the hall during the 17th or 18th century. A contemporary plan from 1719 shows the farmhouse as L-shaped and occupied by Thomas Westoby. This is an unusual and significant example of a building type rare to the area.