Lesser Poston Farmhouse

Lesser Poston Farmhouse is probably 16th century, with alterations and remodelling occurring in the 17th and 18th centuries. The farmhouse is constructed of stone rubble, possibly originally timber-framed, and has a plain-tile roof with gabled and hipped ends. A large stone rubble lateral stack with offsets is located at the rear, and an end stack has a later brick shaft. The original plan likely comprised three rooms, with an outshut on the north side. The present arrangement includes a hall and hall-chamber at the centre, a kitchen to the left, and a parlour at the lower south end, with a stairhall partitioned off at the back.

The building’s original plan may represent the main hall range of a larger house, potentially with wings at either end. The east front is asymmetrical, with four windows. Ground-floor windows are 3-light mullion and transom casements, with a central window of four lights set within a cambered stone arch. First-floor windows are 3-light casements. A plank door is positioned to the right of the centre. The rear (west) elevation has various smaller casements, some of which are blocked. A tall stair window and a large projecting stone rubble stack, positioned in front of a timber-framed attic gable, are also present. A panelled door is located to the right of the centre.

Inside, the hall features intersecting moulded ceiling beams with two rolls flanked by zigzags, forming nine panels with roll-moulded joists, now ceiled. This panelled ceiling is supported by a large, stop-chamfered axial beam set about 0.75 metres from the front wall and likely originally extended into the room to the north. There is a large hall fireplace with an 18th-century bowtell-moulded chimneypiece and shelf, stone jambs, and a concealed timber lintel; a late 19th-century iron range is also present. The kitchen to the north has a chamfered cross beam and joists with run-out stops, along with a brick fireplace featuring a chamfered mantlebeam. The smaller parlour to the south has chamfered axial beams with run-out stops and a 19th-century iron chimneypiece, with a partitioned-off stair hall at the back. First-floor chambers retain exposed square-panelled timber-framed partitions and stop-chamfered ceiling beams. The roof is a 4-bay structure containing attic chambers, featuring trusses with collars, cambered tie beams, vertical struts, and framed doorways. One truss is chamfered with large stops on the principals, likely reused. The roof has a single trenched purlin and straight wind brace. The ridge and rafters have been partly restored.