Newman'S

Newman's comprises parts of two houses, dating back to the 15th century, with alterations made in the early 17th, 18th, and 20th centuries. The building is timber framed and plastered, with a roof covered in handmade red plain tiles. The left-hand section originally consisted of a two-bay hall. A 18th or 19th century stack is located in the right bay, positioned in front of the hall’s original axis, and a parlour or solar bay was originally situated to the right (the service bay has since been demolished). To the right of the hall is a three-bay crosswing, which previously formed part of another hall house, now Top House. A 20th-century two-storey extension with a flat roof projects to the rear of the left-hand house, and a small 19th-century single-storey lean-to with a slate roof is located to its left. A further 20th-century single-storey extension, with a hipped tiled roof, extends to the rear, set at an angle to the left of the crosswing.

The building has two storeys and a five-window front featuring 20th-century sash windows in an 18th-century style. A central six-panel door, with a plain overlight, is set within a panelled doorcase topped by a flat canopy supported on paired brackets. A 20th-century gate gives access to a recessed door at the left end. The building is finished with a plain parapet.

The hall of the left-hand house has curved display bracing at the right end. A blocked parlour doorway retains a mortise for a former draught screen. An early 17th-century floor has widely-spaced longitudinal joists of vertical section, heavily chamfered with lamb tongue stops, and includes a 20th-century grate. The central tiebeam is cambered, along with a cross-quadrate crownpost having three of four rising braces in place. At the left end, there are two curved down-braces from the crown stud and one axial brace; all are heavily smoke-blackened. The walls of the hall have been raised approximately one metre.

The parlour bay retains the original floor of plain horizontal joists, with later alterations. To the right is an area of disturbed framing, which may have originally been a passage between the two houses, and relates to the service crosswing formerly linked to the other house. A chamfered binding beam shows mortices indicating a past partition between service rooms; it is complemented by plain horizontal joists. The roof is a crownpost roof with axial bracing. On the right side are twin service doorways, now blocked by a stack, with their lower halves cut off in order to create a fireplace. At the time of the survey in November 1986, the house had recently been combined with Top House.