The Noak

The Noak is an early 17th-century farmhouse with an addition dating to 1853. It is constructed of brick with ashlar and plaster dressings, and has a plain tile roof punctuated by multiple chimney stacks with diagonally set shafts. The plan consists of a front range of one room depth, built in 1853, with a roughly square, two-room-deep 17th-century building behind. The front elevation is three storeys high and features ashlar gable coping and quoins. It is designed in a Jacobethan style, with three ranges of windows under gables that incorporate stepped coping, and the wings are set in projecting breaks. The windows have labels, mullions, and Tudor arched casements, with a 2-1-2 light arrangement to the second floor. The first floor has a 3-light window on the outer side and a central angled bay. The ground floor features tripartite angled bays with a parapet, arranged 1:4:1. A tripartite verandah porch is located between the outer breaks and features a panelled parapet and Tudor arched openings. A Tudor arched entrance has a stopped label and a double-leaf panelled door. A stone plaque on the left return front reads "IN 1853”. The rear elevation has three storeys, a stone-coped parapet, and an ashlar plinth. Three bands rise over the windows as square labels, mirrored by similar projections to the parapet. It has three windows with plaster dressings, with a 2:1:2 light arrangement to the second floor. The first floor contains two cross-mullioned windows flanking a glazing bar sash with a flush exposed sash box. A central entrance is accessed via a semi-circular stone staircase, which has been extensively repaired with blue brick. A cellar entrance is located to the left, with a lintel of a single sandstone block. Lead downpipes are present on the left and right sides. The building was the principal residence of the Nash family, and was associated with Reverend Treadway Russell Nash, the Worcestershire historian. Traces of a moat are visible to the south.