Upper Ledwyche Farmhouse And Horse Engine House To Rear

UPPER LEDWYCHE FARMHOUSE AND HORSE ENGINE HOUSE TO REAR

Farmhouse of 15th or 16th-century origin, with a 17th-century staircase wing and mid-19th-century refronting and rear wings. The building is constructed in brick, coursed rubble, and rendered timber-frame, with plain-tile and slate roofs. It features deep eaves and dormer bargeboards to the front. A large projecting stone eaves stack stands at the rear with four brick shafts, three with star-shaped shafts and caps (one rebuilt in the 20th century), and a stone ridge stack to the rear wing with a brick shaft. The plan forms an L-shape with a main two-bay core, a cross wing extension, which is itself extended by a further rear wing. A horse engine-house stands within the angle formed by these two wings.

The south-east front is two storeys with an attic, comprising a four-window range of 6/6 sashes flanked by 8/8 sashes, with 3/3 sashes flanked by 4/4 sashes set in brick semi-dormers. A panelled front door to the centre left has a projecting gabled open porch. All windows feature cambered brick lintels and stone sills. A brick attic-floor projecting storey band runs across the front. The left-hand gable return has a stone gable-end with a brick-blocked attic window, and the remains of a timber-framed end truss visible in the gable head indicate that brick refronting was carried out. The right-hand return is of brick with a 20th-century casement and a ground-floor boarded door. A projecting 19th-century service wing extends from the ground, with the main rear extension range beyond it to the right.

The rear consists of a rendered range with a central tall staircase window and two-light casements to the right at both floors. To the left is a projecting stone stack masked by a single-storey 19th-century hipped tiled kitchen extension. Further left is the advanced gable-end of the cross wing, masked by a projecting rear wing of single storey with an attic, which has a tiled gabled roof. The rear wing return wall is of rubble stone, with a three-light casement and a tiled gabled dormer above it, also containing a three-light casement. Plain boarded doors stand to the left.

The interior of the main two-bay core preserves a 15th or 16th-century former open hall with two intermediate open arch-braced hammerbeam trusses per bay. The hammerbeam trusses feature cambered collars with twin raking struts above and arched-braces set into swept principals, which in turn rest on hammerbeams. The hammerbeams are supported on deep-chamfered swept hammer-braces projecting from deep-chamfered wall posts with a chamfer-stop at first-floor level, indicating framing for an upper hall. The hall mid-truss is open, with a cambered tie beam and collar featuring a vertical strut flanked by twin raking struts under the collar and a twin raking strut above. The end truss is close-studded up to a straight tie beam with five vertical struts to the collar and two vertical struts above. A double trenched purlin roof survives with some swept chamfered wind braces; the purlins are tenoned into the intermediate truss principals. Smoke-blackened rafters remain on the north pitch, whilst the south pitch was raised in the 19th century. Main members throughout have hollow chamfers with run-out stops. The hammerbeam, wall plate, and mid-truss tie beam are finished with multi-profiled chamfer mouldings. An inserted attic floor includes a 17th-century plastered cornice and ceiling roundel. Square framing appears in first-floor cross partitions. The rear cross wing gable-end truss has a cambered tie beam with eight vertical struts beneath the collar and four above. Vestigial timber framing survives in the rear wing.

The horse engine-house, constructed in the 19th century, has a hipped slate roof and rubble walls that continue to form a rear courtyard with the arms of the farmhouse.