Dieu-La-Cres Abbey Farmhouse

Dieu-la-Cres Abbey Farmhouse, now divided into two dwellings, likely incorporates a former gateway to the medieval Dieu l'Acres Abbey. It dates to 1612, with later alterations and additions in the late 19th century, likely after 1862. The building is constructed of coursed rubble at ground floor level, with a timber-frame above, all set beneath slate roofs.

The exterior is two storeys with two gabled cross-wings, one incorporating a storeyed porch centrally. The left-hand portion of the main range may have been extended, though it features a chamfered plinth only on the left-hand section. A full-height archway is present in the rear wall of the left-hand bay, seemingly originally a gateway with coved timbering above. The front of the main range incorporates three projecting, two-light iron casement windows on moulded Mannerist brackets. Similar windows are present below, all presumably from the 19th-century remodelling. Mock timbering applied to painted brick was added to the upper storey during this period.

Two jettied wings flank a central hall range. The left-hand wing has a canted bay window and a three-light leaded window above, with a jettied gable apex. Square panelled framing is visible in the return gable of the main range, while the timbering on the jettied wing largely dates to the 19th century. A full-height stair window with leaded glazing and some stained glass sits to the left of the hall range. A projecting six-light mullioned window is situated on the first floor, with a three-light mullioned window below. Timbering was applied to brickwork during the 19th century. The right-hand wing features a storeyed porch.

The porch is dated 1612 with the initials “R over TA” carved into a timber cornice above a four-centred arched entrance. Original features include a moulded bressumer and close studding with decorative panelling. An axial stack is located behind the porch, with decorative niches cut into the brickwork; a similar stack to the right was removed. The rear elevation has a wide gable to the cross-wing with a shallow jetty to the first floor. A narrow storeyed porch, positioned on the axis of the front entrance porch, has its doorway converted into a pointed-arched window. A shallow stair tower projects beyond the porch, alongside an enriched four-centred arch of what was formerly a cart entry, with decorative timber panelling to the coving.

Attached at right angles to the front is an arched entrance gate, dated 1627. This features a shallow four-centred archway, ornamented, seemingly when adjacent farm buildings were constructed around 1820, with an over-arch and pediment constructed from sculpted stone of the Abbey ruins. The pediment incorporates sections of clustered shaft piers, and the archway is flanked by carved figures and decorated with rosettes, corbel heads, vaulting ribs, and fragments of tracery.

The interior was not inspected.