Tubbeswick

This is a mid-18th century house, likely built around 1750. It is constructed of red brick in a Flemish bond pattern, with plaintiled and slate roofs. The plan includes a lobby entrance.

The south front is two storeys high with a symmetrical five-window range. A central six-panelled door, the upper two panels glazed, is set within a timber doorcase with a flat hood. There is a blind window on either side of the door under segmental arches, and an 8/8 unhorned sash window in each of the outer window bays. The first floor alternates between three 6/6 unhorned sash windows and two blind windows. A coved and plastered eaves cornice runs along the top. A central ridge stack is present. One brick on the left side of the first-floor west window is inscribed “HDF/ 1752”, believed to represent Hannah De Foe.

The north elevation features two projections: a gabled extension to the east with a slate roof and a hipped extension to the west with a machine-tiled roof. An east-facing single-storey outshut connects to the east side of the eastern projection. The north front incorporates a plank door, a 2/2 unhorned sash window, and a 2/2 horizontally sliding sash window. A segmental-headed casement window with glazing bars is located in the attic.

The west projection is recessed and contains a plank door to the east of an 8/8 unhorned sash window, which is placed under a segmental gauged skewback arch. The first floor of the west projection was rebuilt around 1920 using stretcher bond brickwork, retaining a 6/6 unhorned sash window. A 20th-century stack is built on the main wall plane. The west return has a 6/6 unhorned sash window on each floor.

The interior features 4-panelled doors throughout. The east ground-floor room has two chamfered bridging beams with run-out stops. A late 19th-century marble chimneypiece is located in the north wall. A passage west of the stack leads to service rooms. A winder staircase is situated north of the stack. Similar bridging beams are found in the passage and the ground floor west room, the latter also featuring a late 19th-century marble chimneypiece. The kitchen, a north-west extension, retains a tall fire opening for a range, opposite which is a pantry. A north-east extension houses an early 20th-century boiler. First-floor rooms are plain, and the roof timbers are plastered.

The house has a historical connection to Daniel Defoe: it was leased by him on August 6, 1722, at £120 per annum for 99 years, and was subsequently rebuilt for his daughter, Molly Defoe.