Rectory Farmhouse

Farmhouse. Dating from the early 17th century, it was altered in the mid- to late 19th century and restored in the mid-20th century. The house is timber-framed with painted brick and rendered infill, resting on a lias limestone rubble plinth, and has plain tiled roofs. The main section is a lobby-entry plan with three framed bays aligned north-west/south-east. A narrow central fireplace bay is topped by a group of four diagonal ridge stacks. A two-bay service cross-wing adjoins the south-east end. The house has two tall storeys, an attic, and a cellar. The framing of the main section has close-studded panels on the ground floor, with a mid-rail and mainly four square panels above. Long straight braces are in the lower corners. The north-west gable end has a collar and tie-beam truss with two collars—two struts survive to the lower collar, a replacement window occupies the rest, three struts to the upper collar, and a V-strut in the apex. The cross-wing has five rows of panels from sill to wall-plate and collar and tie-beam trusses with two struts to collar and a V-strut in the apex. On the north-east front elevation, the windows are regularly spaced, with one window per bay on both floors. The ground floor of the main section has 9-light wood-mullioned oriels (20th century). The first floor has original oriels on the central console, 3-light 19th-century casements and a central 2-light wood-mullioned 20th-century oriel. A 20th-century central door provides access. The cross-wing has plank weatherboards to the main floor levels and ground- and first-floor windows similar to those in the main part. A 20th-century oriel is situated on the attic storey; there’s also an attic light in the south-east gable end. Inside the main section, the back-to-back fireplaces have been retained. The front elevation originally had a two-story porch wing.