The Fords

The Fords is a farmhouse, largely of the early 17th century, with extensions and rebuilding in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and further alterations in the early 19th century. Later additions have also been made. The house is timber framed with red brick infill, with some areas painted and partly rendered to the front. It has graded slate and plain tile roofs. The building follows a rough L-plan, consisting of a rebuilt two-bay hall range, a lower two-bay range to the left, and a gabled cross-wing projecting to the right. It is one storey and attic in height, and two storeys in parts.

The rear and right wall of the cross-wing show exposed timber framing with square panels, two from the girding beam to the wall plate. These have been rebuilt in 20th-century red brick below. The end trusses have collar and tie beams with V-struts from the collar, and projecting double-purlin ends. The front gable has glazing bar sash windows on each floor. A red brick stack is located in the roof slope to the right of the ridge. The hall range, rebuilt in the 19th century using brick, has two glazing bar sashes on the first floor and one to the lower left.

A mid-19th century yellow brick gabled porch is on the right, featuring a round-headed outer arch and a contemporary half-glazed inner door. To the left, a lower range with a steeper roof pitch has a toothed band below the eaves, extending to the left gable end where there are projecting brick X-shapes above, a dentilled band, and a stepped cross to the apex. A gabled full dormer, rendered to the apex, has a two-light 19th-century multi-paned cast-iron casement. A segmental-headed half-glazed 20th-century door is directly below. A projecting, two-storey timber framed gabled porch, possibly of the early 17th century, is on the right. It has slightly projecting bressumers to the first floor and attic, the upper element featuring dentilled carving, supported on carved corner brackets. The ground floor displays close studding with a middle rail, and planted cusped quatrefoil decoration to panels below a three-light multi-paned cast-iron casement on the first floor; carved decoration is on the vertical struts to the apex. There is no visible doorway to this porch.

A prominent red brick ridge stack, in four sections, is immediately to the right, at the junction with an early 18th century gabled brick range to the rear, which has a crow-stepped gable. A lean-to porch in the angle between the ranges covers a 17th-century plank door. An early 19th-century brick lean-to is to the rear, situated between the early 18th century gabled range and the rear gable of the cross-wing. This lean-to was heightened in the late 19th century to form a two-storey gable. The interior was not accessible for inspection during a resurvey in May 1986, but is likely to be of interest.