Manor Farmhouse

This is an early 19th-century two-storey double-pile house with 15th- or 16th-century timber framing preserved in the north range and 20th-century extensions to the rear. The building stands on the northeast side of Woodside in Longstanton.

The roof is slate-covered with a double gable and four truncated end stacks. The external walls are constructed of gault brick with pale yellow, orange and red bricks used across the east, west and north elevations. The façade features nine eight-over-eight vertical sliding sash windows and an off-centre mid-19th-century panelled door with a 20th-century porch. The west elevation has 20th-century vertical sliding sash windows, while the east and north elevations have casement windows. Single-storey former farm outbuildings to the north-west were remodelled in the late 20th century and are of limited individual interest, though they contribute group value to the site.

The interior reveals considerable historical complexity. The south range contains a mid-19th-century dog-leg staircase, early and mid-19th-century fireplaces and dentil cornices. A central axial corridor separates the two ranges. The north range displays simple moulded 19th-century cornices and encloses a portion of the timber-framed building in the central and west bays of both ground and first floors. The ground floor contains substantial square-section 15th- or 16th-century axial bridging beams with tight roll-mouldings and angled chamfers, accompanied by later nailed studs, joists and an inglenook fireplace. The first floor retains a 15th- or 16th-century rear wall plate with redundant dovetail joint, tie beams and blocked doorways.

Roman and later pottery has been recovered from groundworks around the house, indicating prolonged occupation. The timber-framed element is thought to represent the former Cheyneys Manor House, documented from the 13th century. The framing includes substantial late medieval principal timbers with fine mouldings, characteristic of a prestigious building of considerable status. An architectural historian has identified these fragments as likely deriving from a 15th- or 16th-century hall house with a crosswing. However, the studs and joists are substantially later and were nailed; they have inconsistent dimensions and occasionally comprise whole small tree trunks. The precise location of the screens passage, service and high ends remains unclear, and full interpretation of the medieval building is complicated by extensive 19th- and 20th-century remodelling.

From the 16th century onwards the manor was used as a farm, acquiring various names including Lordship Farm, Manor Farm and Inholms Farm. The 19th-century remodelling was undertaken by William Linton, documented as farming Inholms Farm in 1811. Substantial loss of medieval framing likely occurred at this time. The variation in brickwork across the construction suggests the rear wall and end gables may have been rebuilt or patched subsequently. The house remained a working farm occupied by tenants into the late 20th century, when it was converted to offices, during which the stable block and Georgian house layout was altered. It was reconverted to residential use approximately two years before the listing survey date.

The building today is largely a substantially intact 19th-century house with decorative plasterwork and fireplaces, though it retains important evidence of its earlier medieval timber-framed predecessor.