The Old House

The Old House is a house of two 16th-century builds with 1930s windows. It is timber-framed, exhibiting close studding to the front and right side of the upper storey. The left wing features curved braces, while the right wing has curved tension braces. The building has whitewashed brick and plaster infill, a thatched roof, and whitewashed brick chimneys in the centre and at the front right corner of the cross wing. Its layout is L-shaped, with a projecting gabled cross wing to the right. The house has two storeys, with the left wing comprising three bays, featuring 20th-century casements. These are mostly three-light wooden casements, except for a two-light casement in the centre of the first floor and a single metal casement on the ground floor to the left. A 20th-century door is located to the right, with a flat wooden hood supported by shaped brackets. The two-bay cross wing has three-light casements to the front; these are lower wooden and upper leaded. The upper storey of the cross wing is jettied to the front, supported by moulded brackets and renewed corner posts that extend down to the ground floor. 19th-century whitewashed brick extensions are located to the rear of the cross wing. Inside the cross wing are queen strut trusses; the left wing has raking queen post trusses, with principal rafters set in from the ends of the tie-beams. Heavy floor joists are present, with those in the left wing re-used and partially smoke-blackened. The left bay has been partially rebuilt with a 20th-century floor. The house is believed to have been constructed in the 1560s for John Bent, although the left wing may incorporate timbers from an earlier hall.