Avenells Farmhouse

A farmhouse dating from the 16th century with significant alterations in the mid-17th century. It is timber-framed, with plaster rendering and plain tiled roofs. A red brick ridge stack, originally from the 17th century, has been partly rebuilt. The house began as a double-ended hall house. The two-storey main range is from the 16th century but was much altered in the mid-to-late 17th century. It has two 19th-century six-pane sash windows on the first floor and one twelve-pane sash window on the ground floor. The original doorway remains, with an early 19th-century pedimented doorcase featuring a dentilled cornice, though it has undergone some modern repairs, and a modern panelled door. A 16th-century west crosswing has a jettied first floor, which is now underbuilt, with one flush frame hung sash window at both first and ground floor levels. Sills remain from the original window openings in the north and west walls. An east crosswing, likely a service wing of two bays, probably dates from the 17th century and also has a jettied first floor that is now underbuilt. It features one hung sash window to each storey. Adjoining the east end is a barn or outbuilding from the 17th or 18th century, constructed with a framed, rendered, and tiled façade. Internally, the main range has two bays, with some rebuilding visible on the first floor. The roof is of butt purlin construction dating from the mid-to-late 17th century, with mortised common rafters. At ground floor, a partition separates the hall/stairway from the main hall. The 19th-century staircase includes splat section balusters of around 1680 in the landing balustrade. The roof of the west crosswing is of a clasped side purlin type, dating to the 16th century, with substantial, well-carpentered rafters laid flat.