Whitehouse Farm

Whitehouse Farm comprises two houses, dating to the mid-16th century and late 17th centuries, with alterations in the early 19th and 20th centuries. The building is timber-framed, plastered, and has a roof of handmade red clay tiles. The original configuration included a mid-16th century cross-wing of two bays on the left, and a late 17th century main range of three bays to the right, facing northeast on the site of a former hall range. The two sections now appear as a single, continuously roofed structure. A 16th/17th century stack is located behind the axis in the left bay of the hall range, functioning as a lobby entrance (now to No.2, formerly for the entire house). The house is divided along this stack, with No.1 to the right and No.2 to the left, and each has a 20th-century lean-to extension to the rear. The building has two storeys and attics. Five 19th/20th century casement windows are present on each floor. No.2 has an early 19th century boarded door with a simple canopy supported by profiled brackets. A similar door and canopy are found on the right return of No.1. The wallplates of the cross-wing project through the front elevation. The roof is half-hipped at both ends, and all other windows are 19th/20th century casements.

Inside the cross-wing, there is an underbuilt jetty at the front, along with a chamfered binding beam with step stops, and chamfered joists of square and horizontal section, fixed to the beam with soffit tenons featuring diminished haunches. The joists bear clear assembly marks cut with a race knife, numbered I-VII from left to right. A 20th century grate is present in the larger hearth. Notably, the middle tie-beam has been raised above the wallplates, potentially representing a 17th-century introduction and reuse. A 17th-century newel staircase connects the ground floor to the attic and is complete. In No.1, the right bay features a chamfered axial beam with lamb's tongue stops, along with chamfered joists of vertical section with convex stops. One joist at the front left is formed from reduced medieval timber, displaying diamond mortices indicative of a former unglazed window. A 20th century grate has been fitted. The middle bay also has a chamfered axial beam with lamb's tongue stops, and plain joists of vertical section; a parallel beam at the rear is a 20th-century insertion that blocks a former stair trap. A large wood-burning hearth faces to the right, reduced for a 20th-century grate, and a cupboard is located to the rear with an early 19th-century two-panel pine door. On the first floor, each bay has a chamfered axial beam, with lamb's tongue stops in the middle bay. Joists are plastered to the soffits. The roof is a butt-purlin structure, plastered internally except for the purlins.

Historical records from the Petre archives, including a 1556 survey, document the house, previously known as Websters, Free House, and Freelands. The 1556 survey described the building as 40 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 13 feet to the eaves, with a tiled roof. A 1601 Walker map depicts the property as a hall house with a central door and chimney, one window on each side, and a two-story cross-wing to the left, all with tiled roofs. At that time, it was occupied by William Griggs, who held 21 acres.