Old Hall Farmhouse

This farmhouse has an exceptional building history spanning from the late 15th to the late 17th century. The original structure is a cruck building dated to 1484, which was encased in stone during the 17th century. In the 17th century, an extension of similar size was added to form a second house, followed by a late-17th-century parlour block. The building is constructed of shaped and coursed gritstone with stone slate roofs.

Plan and Layout

The farmhouse has a linear plan. The original single-storey cruck house of 1484 was encased in the 17th century to create a one-and-a-half-storey structure with two rooms. To the left is the 17th-century house, which has two storeys and two rooms. Attached to the right rear corner is a taller two-storey-and-attic parlour block. Both the original house and the 17th-century house have blind rear walls. In the return between the east gable wall of the house and the set-back south gable wall of the parlour block is a lean-to, open-fronted shelter shed.

Exterior

Original House (1484, encased 17th century)

The front, south elevation of the original house is divided into three bays. The first and second bays have two-storey gables, while the third bay is single storey. The building is constructed of squared and coursed stone blocks with a stone-flagged roof that extends low over the third bay.

At the far left of the first gabled bay is a part-blocked former doorway with a quoined surround with single chamfer, now containing an inserted casement window. To its right is a small, square, single-chamfered light. The entrance doorway is located in the second gabled bay and has a four-panelled door with ashlar surround. To its right is a three-light, rectangular window with a square-cut surround, now with one recessed stone mullion (originally two) and casement frames. The third bay has a tall, rectangular, single-chamfered light.

Both gables have three-light, rectangular windows with double-chamfered surrounds on the first floor. The second mullion to each window has been removed and both have casement frames. All window frames are timber with diamond-leaded glazing. The apex of the first gable has an inverted heart or spade-shaped sunken panel. To the left of the gable ridge is a small, rendered stack. At the right-hand end of the main roof is a tall, ashlar, corniced, ridge stack.

17th-Century House

The 17th-century house attached to the left is taller with two full storeys and two widely-spaced first-floor bays. It is built of squared and coursed stone blocks with a drip-mould string between the ground and first floors.

The entrance doorway is placed left of centre and has a boarded door and square-faced surround. To the left is a two-light window in a square-faced surround and stone mullion. The remains of the window frame show it to be a timber casement with small-pane glazing. To the right are two three-light, double-chamfered mullion windows with fixed glazing and vertical iron window bars.

On the first floor to the left is a four-light, double-chamfered window with two mullions remaining. The glazing to the left two lights is a timber casement with small-pane glazing, to the third light is diamond-leaded glazing, and the fourth light is now unglazed, with a vertical iron window bar. To the right is a similar, three-light window missing the stone mullions, with a timber casement window frame. Both windows were extended by inserting an extra light with square-cut surrounds at the right-hand end, which are now both re-blocked.

On the left-hand side, the west gable wall has damaged kneelers and gable coping, with an ashlar end stack.

Late-17th-Century Parlour Block

The parlour block set back to the right has a blind south gable wall with the ground-floor level obscured by the later, lean-to, open-fronted shed. It is built of squared and coursed stonework with an elaborate ashlar end stack with coupled square flues on a shouldered plinth, linking moulded bands and cornice. The roof is of Welsh slate.

The east wall and north gable wall have a drip-mould string between the ground and first floors, over the first-floor windows, and the gable has one over the attic window. On the ground floor the east wall has a double-chamfered, cross-window set to the right of centre, now missing the transoms (presently boarded up), with a smaller, double-chamfered, three-light window above on the first floor, missing the mullions (presently boarded up).

The rear, north elevation is partially obscured by a brick lean-to which belongs to the adjoining property. It has a blocked, double-chamfered, cross-window towards the left-hand side of the ground floor. Above, on the first floor, is a small, square, double-chamfered light, and at attic level there is a centrally-placed, double-chamfered, two-light window. The gable is coped.

Shelter Shed

The lean-to shelter shed to the east of the original house has a central stone block pier and stone outer wall with a lean-to stone slate roof.

Interior

Original House (1484, encased 17th century)

The original house retains two cruck frames with collars. On the ground floor in line with the west cruck is a timber plank and muntin cross wall with a doorway adjacent to the front wall of the house.

The main east room has a chamfered and stopped spine beam morticed into an eastern, chamfered bressumer beam. The spine beam supports closely spaced, chamfered and stopped floor joists. There is an iron range in the centre of the east wall. To its immediate left is a boarded door opening onto a timber staircase rising to the first floor of the parlour block. To its left is a passageway leading into the ground floor of the parlour block. The main window has folding timber shutters.

The west room has coppers in a brick base with a narrow brick stack, and a shallow stone sink beneath the windows. At the rear of the room is a larder with a ventilated timber wall and a board door, stone slab tables and wooden hanging brackets. Adjacent, in the north-east corner is a timber dog-leg staircase behind a board door. A doorway, with board door, on the left-hand side of the west wall leads through into the 17th-century house. The two first-floor rooms are ceiled.

17th-Century House

The 17th-century house has two ground-floor rooms separated by a stone cross wall. The east room has two chamfered lateral beams supporting square-cut joists. The floor level has been raised to accommodate two mirror-image cellars, each with a flight on stone steps down to the cellar and another shorter flight up to the ground floor, which is sub-divided by a brick and timber cross wall, now partially removed. The east room formed has a timber balustrade with turned newel post with ball finial separating the flights of steps. Both cellars also have wooden balustrades with turned balusters above the cellar steps. The cellars have stone slab tables and stone flag floors.

The west room has a bressumer beam supporting two lateral beams and a corbelled stone fireplace against the west wall with a blocked bread oven on the right-hand side. Against the east wall is a flight of timber stairs, enclosed by a timber plank and muntin wall. Set into the timber wall is a board door to the stairs, and to its left a large timber panelled cupboard with a rectangular aperture in the door.

The two first-floor rooms are divided by a timber plank cross wall. Both were ceiled, but partial collapse in the west room has exposed the roof structure of common rafters with ridge and two purlins. Against the west wall is the stone chimneybreast. In front is a cross beam with king post and four mortices indicating the position of a former smoke hood.

Late-17th-Century Parlour Block

The parlour block has a large room on the ground and first floors with plastered ceilings and plastered beams. The attic room was not inspected as it was not accessible. The first-floor room and attic room are reached by a wooden spiral staircase in the south-west corner, opening off the east room of the original house.

The ground-floor room has an eight-panelled door with an adjacent panelled cupboard with butterfly hinges. There is a fireplace in the centre of the south wall of the two main floors. The ground-floor fireplace has a timber chimneypiece and mantel shelf and cast-iron hob grate, with a small spice cupboard to the left of the chimneybreast.

The first-floor room has an eight-panelled door and a fireplace with a moulded stone chimneypiece with a stone hob grate.