Higher House

Higher House is an early 17th-century farmhouse, which has undergone rebuilding in the early to mid-19th century, with later additions and alterations. The farmhouse is timber-framed with painted brick infill and 19th-century red brick cladding or replacement, and has plain and machine tile roofs. It is arranged in an L-shape, consisting of a hall range of two wide-framed bays with a central baffle entry and a two-bay cross-wing projecting to the right. A late 17th-century timber-framed addition is attached to the left gable end of the hall range.

The cross-wing framing consists of square panels, four from the cill to the wall-plate, with short straight tension braces. It has a collar and tie beam truss with part of a V-strut visible to the rear gable. The front gable was clad or rebuilt in 19th-century brick with exposed single-purlin ends. The hall range's front wall has been clad or rebuilt in 19th-century brick, but framing remains visible to the back above a painted brick plinth, showing three square panels with short straight tension braces. The positions of an infilled doorway and two-light mullion windows are visible to the right of centre. The late 17th-century addition to the left gable end of the hall range has rectangular panels to the rear and gable with single-purlin ends, but is clad or replaced with 19th-century red brick to the front.

The hall range features late 19th-century segmental-headed casements to the left and right of the central four-panel door (with the top panels now glazed). A casement is placed directly below the eaves above the left casement, and another is within a gabled half-dormer to the right. A subsidiary four-panel door, also with glazed top panels, is located on the far right, in the angle with the cross-wing, alongside a 19th-century segmental-headed casement on each floor. Another 19th-century segmental-headed casement is situated in the extension to the left of the hall range. The cross-wing contains an integral lateral stack to the right and a stepped external end stack to the rear gable, while the hall range has a prominent ridge stack in two sections to the centre. A 19th-century single-storey gabled brick outbuilding is attached to the rear gable of the cross-wing. The interior was not inspected but is likely to be of interest.