Nichol'S Farmhouse

Nichol's Farmhouse is a house dating from the late medieval period, with alterations made in the 16th and 17th centuries. It is timber framed and has been plastered, with a roof covered in handmade red clay tiles. Originally a two-bay hall facing southeast, it has a storeyed parlour or solar bay at the left end, likely dating from the early 16th century or earlier. A three-bay extension to the right was added in the early 17th century, featuring an axial stack at the junction of the two sections. The hall range is a single storey with attics, while the right extension has two storeys. On the ground floor, there are five 20th-century casement windows. The upper floor has three 20th-century casements, one within a gabled dormer. A 20th-century door provides access. Six octagonal shafts have been rebuilt.

Within the left bay of the hall, there's a chamfered axial beam with step stops, plain joists of horizontal section, a shutter groove, and diamond mortices indicating a former unglazed window at the end. The rear wall plate of the hall shows evidence of a large unglazed window and is smoke-blackened. The mid-16th century inserted floor features a chamfered transverse beam with step stops, supported on independent posts, longitudinal square joists also chamfered with step stops, and original boards. One section of the beam remains unchamfered, indicating the former presence of a timber-framed chimney. The roof is ceiled, and its precise date cannot be determined without access. There's a 20th-century grate in a large wood-burning hearth on the ground floor, and a blocked hearth with a depressed brick arch (formerly plastered) on the upper floor. The construction includes jowled posts, an inserted framed doorway in one tiebeam, and other severed beams.

The right extension also has jowled posts, some exposed close studding, and primary straight bracing. This section has chamfered axial beams and plain joists of horizontal section. A large wood-burning hearth exists on the ground floor, and another on the first floor has a depressed brick arch (originally plastered, now stripped). An unusual internal door with ventilation slots is located to the rear of the stack, dating from the 17th or 18th century. The name "Nichols" derives from John, son of Nicholas, and subsequent generations of the Fitz-Nicols or Nicholas family, who held the estate from the 14th to the 16th centuries. "Nichols" was formerly a manor.