Hilltop Farmhouse

This is a house, formerly a farmhouse, dating back to the 17th century or earlier, with extensions and alterations made in the late 17th century and around 1840. It is constructed of coal measures sandstone and red brick, potentially replacing timber framing in the rear wing, with some areas of the rear elevation rendered. The roof is covered with plain tiles, and there are brick chimneys on the ridge and gables.

The building has an irregular T-shaped plan, comprising an early range to the south and a refronted range to the north.

The front (north) elevation has two storeys and four bays. The off-centre doorway has a four-panel door with a rectangular overlight featuring margin glazing. Flanking the doorway are stacked sash windows with eight-over-eight panes, having projecting stone sills and painted wedge lintels, with a six-over-six pane sash window above the doorway. A service bay is located at the west end.

The east side elevation is rendered, with a wing extending to the right. A 20th-century porch encloses a 18th-century two-panel door within a pegged frame. A truncated chimney is found on the south gable, with a six-pane casement window on the stack line on the first floor. Stacked windows are present to the right of the porch, with 20th-century joinery, and a similar arrangement is visible in the east end bay of the wing.

The garden (east) elevation includes a doorway at the junction of the rear range and service bay of the front range. Above the doorway is a two-light horizontal sliding sash window, each light with eight panes. To the right of the doorway are stacked two-light horizontal sashes, with eight-pane lights above and six-pane lights below.

The interior of the rear range contains two rooms divided by a passage, originally by a cruck truss, which now forms part of the south wall of the north room. Within the south room, a spine beam with 17th-century chamfer stops extends from the south wall to the cruck-framed wall. The cast cruck blade has been cut back from floor level to just below ceiling level. The north room has two ceiling beams and exposed joists, with a built-in cupboard in the south-west corner and a two-panel door on iron strap hinges. A deep hearth with a 20th-century stove and baffle is located at the north end. The frontage range incorporates a former wing, the east room of which has a spine beam with elaborate 17th-century chamfer stops. 19th-century added front rooms have panelled shutters to the windows. A 19th-century stick baluster staircase is within the hallway, likely partially formed from the north end room of the 17th-century house. This is a vernacular house with multiple phases of construction, altered and refronted in the early 19th century, retaining substantial fabric from all periods and clear evidence of the evolution of the plan.