Hardwick Court Farm

Hardwick Court Farm is a farmhouse, now a house, likely dating from the late 14th century. It was substantially rebuilt in the 17th century and altered in the 19th century. The construction is timber-framed with red brick infill, with a red brick front and coursed square stone to the ground floor on the right side. The roof is tiled with brick end and side stacks. The main range was rebuilt in the 17th century, with a late 14th-century cross-wing to the right and a 19th-century subsidiary wing projecting forward towards the center of the right side. The house has two storeys, an attic, and a cellar.

The front has a four-window facade. A lean-to porch is centrally positioned, containing a 20th-century window to the left, above which are two two-light casements. The wing to the center-right features a canted bay window with glazing-bar sashes above a two-light casement. The cross-wing has a door on the left and a three-light casement on both floors. The right end of the building has a stone ground floor and square-panel timber framing above. A substantial projecting stack, constructed of stone at its base and brick above, contains a pair of diagonally placed brick flues. A small medieval two-light stone window is set within the stonework to the left of the stack, and to the right is a single-light window above a three-light casement. The rear of the house features lean-to extensions, square-panel framing, small casements, and a two-light dormer.

Inside, the cross-wing’s cellar has been brick-lined later, possibly over stone, and incorporates reused timbers. The sitting room above has a chamfered spine beam with a deep run-out stop, although the partition beam is deeper and may be original. The first floor displays moulded wall posts, one featuring decorative detailing at floor level. The roof, currently in the attic, is a fine three-bay structure, and has cambered tie beams with arched braces, intermediate collars also with arched braces, cusped windbraces, cusped kneebraces, and principals forming quatrefoils in the angles of the trusses, both main and intermediate.

The main range’s kitchen, originally the 17th-century hall, retains stone flags and cross-beams with ogee stops. A room at the left end has chamfered spine beams with ogee and jewel stops, an open fireplace, and a cut-through bressumer. The roof is a tie-beam truss, with one timber marked "EFDC" and dated 1618.

A section of a moat remains in front of the house, and there are possible earthworks to the south.