Blackbush Farmhouse

Blackbush Farmhouse is a late 16th-century farmhouse that has been altered in the 20th century. It is constructed with a timber frame, with the frame visible externally. The ground floor has brick infill, while the upper floors have plaster infill. The roof is covered with handmade red clay tiles. The main range is two bays wide and aligned approximately north-south, with an 18th-century chimney stack at the south end. The west-facing elevation features a door in a gabled porch and casement windows - three on the ground floor and seven on the first floor, all dating to the 20th century. The ground floor has yellow brick infill. A later external frame is present on the south wall of the south crosswing, featuring straight bracing and 20th-century red brick infill on the ground floor only. A blocked, unglazed window is present on the south wall of the north crosswing, on the first floor. A two-bay service crosswing, dating to the 17th century, is located to the north, featuring a central chimney stack. A two-bay parlour crosswing is positioned to the south, with a 17th-century stair tower in the rear angle. A single-storey lean-to extension from the 19th century adjoins the north crosswing, while a single-storey extension from the 20th century, with red interlocking tiles, extends to the east. A structural break is noticeable between the north crosswing and the main range, suggesting a phased building programme. The interior features plain-chamfered, stopped beams and joists (various types); the joists in the north wing are mostly exposed and unchamfered, while those in the south wing are chamfered and stopped. The roofs have a clasped purlin construction, with arched wind bracing. Hearths and internal surfaces were altered in the 20th century.