Bean Hole Head Farmhouse And Attached Barn

Bean Hole Head Farmhouse and Attached Barn

A substantial farmhouse dated 1638 with an attached barn, located on Cross Stone Road near Todmorden. The building is constructed of hammer-dressed stone with a stone slate roof, and comprises two storeys.

The main house originally followed a three-roomed plan, with the barn occupying the service room to the west. The south front features a barn aisle with a coped gable and kneelers. Square-headed mistal doorways have simple chamfers. A semi-circular cart entry with a circular pitching hole over sits adjacent to two double-chamfered mullioned windows of two lights. The main housebody window is double-chamfered with eight lights but lacks the centre mullion. Above it is a four-light window. The principal doorway has tie-stones and a cavetto moulded cornice. A further four-light double-chamfered mullioned window appears with another of the same size above. The gable is coped with kneelers. The right-hand return wall displays an extruded stack with offsets.

A rear range was added in 1700 at right angles to the main house, also under a two-span roof. This wing has a four-light double-chamfered mullioned window lacking two mullions, with a hoodmould and scrolled label stops above. Above this is a former four-light window. The rear is formed by two gables with a rainwater chute to the valley. The westernmost gable contains a large well-dressed extruded stack with many offsets. The return wall of the wing features a double-chamfered mullioned window of four lights lacking two mullions, with a hoodmould above; the left label stop is formed of the letters 'W S' and the right displays the date '1700'. Above is a four-light window also lacking two mullions. At right angles, beneath a cat-slide roof, is a lean-to porch with a Tudor arched doorway. The doorway surround is chamfered and the lintel is carved with the letters 'RAS' in relief. The rear of the main range retains a double-chamfered mullioned window of two lights, now part of the barn. A barn was added in the early 18th century to the west end of the main range, with a square-headed cart entry and a glazed pitching hole over, featuring composite jambs and a chamfered surround.

The interior contains particularly fine plasterwork. The housebody features scarf-jointed spine beams which are reeded, as are the floor joists. A plaster frieze of scrolled vine with pomegranates and lion masks decorates the walls. A large Royal coat of arms dated 1634 and initialled 'R S A' is set within pilasters, with coats of arms initialled 'M W', 'D B', and 'E D' arranged within arcades on either side.

The eastern room was probably the parlour. It contains a small segmental arched fireplace with skewbacks and a moulded surround. An original 17th-century cellar is covered by original oak cupboarding (guardarn) with small reeded stiles and square panels, a door, and a coved canopy supported by bobbin-turned columns. The side of this cupboard features a depressed Tudor arched lintel leading to cellar stairs. This room contains large reeded beams.

The rear western room, formerly the kitchen, has reeded floor joists and an original oak studded door. Its segmental arched fireplace has skewbacks and a cyma-moulded surround. To the right of the fireplace is a chamfered surround to a beehive oven.

Built into the division wall between the house and barn, probably dateable to 1700, is a 10th-century cross-shaft with interlaced carving from a former cross that once stood on this site. This cross gave the area its name of Cross Stone. The house retains many original features, and its plasterwork is amongst the finest to survive in the Calder Valley.