Old Cross Farmhouse

Old Cross Farmhouse is a circa 1400 farmhouse, altered and extended in the 17th century, with further changes made in the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries. The building is timber-framed with painted brick and rendered infill between timber studs, resting on a rubble base. Some areas have rubble walling and painted brick refacing, with replacement walling. The roof is stone-tiled, laid in diminishing courses, with a pair of diagonal ridge stacks constructed of rubble and rebuilt brick caps at the west end of the 17th-century section. Originally, the farmhouse comprised a medieval hall and a cross-wing; the cross-wing survives, with two cruck-framed bays aligned north/south. The hall range on the east side was rebuilt in the 17th century and has a large chimney back adjacent to the cross-wing. A continuous lean-to outshut runs along the rear with a catslide roof. The farmhouse is single-storey with an attic. The framing within the cross-wing retains part of the original cruck trusses with collars at both ends. The 17th-century range exhibits three panels from sill to wall-plate, short straight upper corner braces, and a collar and tie-beam truss with four struts and a V-strut above the collar at the east end. The north front elevation of the 17th-century range has a two-light casement window. The cross-wing’s gable end features a two-light casement window on the ground floor and a pair of attic lights with a continuous plank weathering. A gabled timber porch with a two-centred archway provides the main entrance; it contains a 20th-century door and glazing. An attic light is visible at the east gable end. Inside the cross-wing, the central cruck truss remains.