Higher Ashes Farmhouse

The farmhouse at Higher Ashes, dated 1691, is a significant example of a Yeoman clothier’s house in the Todmorden region. It is now divided into three separate residences. The building is constructed of large dressed stone with a stone slate roof and comprises a main hall range and projecting cross-wings to the south, with a projecting northern wing set between the outer wings.

Architecturally, the farmhouse features a plinth and a continuous string course above the ground floor windows. The gables have kneelers and ball finials. Mullioned windows are a consistent feature, with many being double-chamfered. The west wing includes a six-light window with a king mullion. The original doorway is incorporated into an inner porch with stone seats; the outer door is framed by a deeply cyma-moulded arch with spiral stops. Above the doorway is a tablet bearing the initials “W S S” carved in relief, commemorating William and Sarah Sutcliffe in 1691. The first floor displays three cross-windows with hood moulds and decorative label stops. The hall range has a two-light fire window, a four-light window above it, and a six-light housebody window (4 + 2) with a mid-20th century doorway inserted, matching the chamfered surround. Above this is a four-light window. A cross-window is found on the west return wall of the east wing. The south front features two cross-windows with a matching window above, each with a hood mould and decorative label stops. A projecting stack with offsets and a four-light window is on the right hand return wall. The rear of the east wing has a three-light window with a hood mould, incorporating heart-shaped label stops. A doorway inscribed with the date 1857 on the left hand return wall of the west wing indicates a significant rebuilding of the north gable of that wing around that time; tile through passage doorways were replaced with hollow chamfered windows. A stone, possibly the old door lintel, is reset and inscribed “W S” within a tressure, dated 1673. The rear kitchen wing has a four-light double-chamfered mullioned window on its west face and a six-light chamfered mullioned window. A large extruded stack tops the gable, which is coped. The east face of the kitchen wing features a six-light double-chamfered mullioned window with a hood mould and straight return, above which is a five-light window.

The interior of the kitchen wing includes a fireplace with a depressed Tudor-arched lintel boldly carved with "W S S", and a bolection moulded fireplace along with reeded spine beams in the east wing. The housebody has reeded spine beams with scarf joints, evidence of a former bressumer which has been removed and replaced with an 18th century fireplace. The farmhouse is notable for its unusual through-passage within a cross-wing and displays fine quality masonry and a highly developed plan form, with both parlour wings exhibiting classical features and a rear kitchen wing attached to the central hall.