Hole Farmhouse Including Attached Barn And Cow Sheds

Hole Farmhouse is a timber-framed farmhouse with attached barn to the south-east and cow sheds to the west, likely dating from the 17th century with 18th-century additions and later alterations, including 20th-century rebuilding. The house has a painted brick front facade, the barn a 20th-century brick front, and the cow sheds are brick with timber supports, all under plain-tile roofs.

The house is an L-shaped building of three units, with a five-bay barn and a six-bay range at the rear comprising a dairy, a two-bay pen, and a three-bay cow shed. The farmhouse is one-and-a-half stories with an attic, featuring a five-window front. It has two entrances with plank doors under elliptical arches, off-centre to the right and left. There are 2-light casement windows with glazing bars, a 3-light casement to the centre with some metal windows, all under elliptical arches. A 20th-century timber porch with a plastic roof covers the three central openings. A modillion eaves band runs along the top of the house, and three dormers have casement windows. End and ridge stacks are present, and the roof is continuous over the barn. An outshut to the right retains the remains of a bread oven.

The barn has five bays with an outshut to the rear on the left. It features a central plank door leading to the threshing floor, further double plank doors to the left, and two plank pitching doors. The left gable end has a pitching opening under an elliptical arch, a pigeon landing shelf, and openings to the gable head. The outshut to the left has an elliptically-arched opening which is now blocked.

The cow shed range is six bays, with two bays to the right having brick infill; the others are open with brick and timber supports.

Inside the farmhouse, the room to the right has an inglenook fireplace with a massive bressumer beam and a cupboard to the left with a board door. Original plank doors remain. A dividing panelled wall now separates the centre room into two smaller units. Exposed small square panels of timber-framing are visible on the rear wall and main partition walls, along with an inglenook fireplace with a bressumer beam and a chamfered spine beam. A corner cupboard has H-hinges. Another room also has exposed timber-framing. Two staircases are present: one to the rear between the right and centre rooms, and one to the front between the centre and right rooms. The first floor has exposed purlins, a tie beam, and principal rafters. The centre room shows extensive timbering to the partition wall, a tie-and-collar-beam truss with angle struts, and exposed timber-framing and a wall-plate on the rear wall.

The barn’s interior retains square panels of timber-framing, particularly on the left side. A dividing wall between the house and barn shows exposed timbering, including collar-and-tie beam trusses with queen posts, three further similar trusses (one with a queen post, two with angle trusses), principal rafters, and a collar beam. One tier of purlins is also visible. Cross beams are present on the threshing floor, and further cross-beams to the left.

The cow shed range, probably from the mid-18th century, features original collar-and-tie beam trusses with angle struts.