Farnley Hey

Farnley Hey is a house designed in 1954-55 by Peter Womersley for John Womersley. It is constructed of pale lilac sandlime brick walls with timber-framed bays and a stone base. The house has a flat roof and is two storeys high, with a part open plan layout.

The exterior, on the entrance side, features a boarded timber upper storey with full-height glazing on the left-hand side. A cantilevered left-hand end rests on a stone wall. Painted hardwood windows are present throughout. An original open balcony with a boarded end has been altered to extend a room with glazed end and sides, with a later conservatory added beneath. The ground floor includes a garage entrance, a boiler room projecting from the brickwork, a covered passage, a kitchen window with yellow plastic panels beneath a stone wall, and a three-bay full-height glazing arrangement for the dining room. The passage provides access to the kitchen door and the front door, which leads to a north-facing front with four bays of double-height glazing. The two bays on the left incorporate double-glazed panels with a sealed yellow membrane. An angled bedroom wing extends to the left, featuring four bays of glazing and a lower roof height. The end wall of the main block has two bays of two-storey glazing, with a brick wall to the right.

The terrace front features four bays with overhanging eaves supported by timber columns braced with iron rods to the mullions, and recessed double-height glazing with sliding windows below a transom.

The interior features a stone floor in the entrance area and a margin of the main room, which has an inset boarded beechwood floor. A fitted room divider separates the entrance area from the main room. Walls are vertically boarded in mahogany, and ceilings are plywood finished with birch or gaboon veneer. Exposed brick is visible on the chimney wall, with a fascia band of grey faux marble laminate. A ladder stair, with timber treads supported by a steel string and a vertical laminate infill, leads to a gallery. Steps down from the main level provide access to the dining room, which incorporates rough York stone at the corner and end wall. Fitted cupboards are positioned below the main room floor level, and a fitted unit is located in the kitchen.

Farnley Hey is a well-known and frequently illustrated early example of a freely planned small house, situated in a fine setting, and showcasing a range of materials typical of the early 1950s. It represents a significant demonstration of the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright in Britain.