Ployters Farmhouse

Farmhouse, dating from the 16th century, with alterations from the 17th and 19th centuries, and an extension added in 1977. The house is timber framed and has plaster walls, covered by a roof of handmade red clay tiles. It is aligned northwest to southeast, facing northeast, with a two-story service wing at the southeast end, two rooms on the ground floor, and a single room above. A two-bay parlour or solar crosswing sits at the northwest end. A hall block is located between these, with an axial brick chimney stack at the southeast end facing northwest, creating a 'low end' lobby entrance. An internal chimney stack is present in the crosswing, dating from the 19th century. An extension was built to the south in 1977. The house has two storeys, with a front door and three casement windows, all from the 20th century, and three similar windows above. It has gablet roofs at both ends. Some of the timber framing is visible internally. Features include jowled wallposts and curved tension bracing trenched to the inside of the studs. The service wing and hall block were originally single-story structures with attics, lit by unglazed windows at floor level. The walls were raised by approximately 1 meter in the late 17th century, and the roof was rebuilt in its current butt-purlin style, aligned with the original roof over the southeast and middle sections, but at right angles to the original roof of the crosswing. The southeast service wing and the hall block appear structurally distinct, suggesting a phased building program. Evidence suggests the hall block originally had a timber framed chimney at the southeast end, which was replaced in the late 16th century by the current brick chimney stack. The northwest crosswing was constructed in the mid-16th century featuring a cranked central tiebeam and arched braces, with the original crownpost roof now replaced. Rafter seatings for the original northeast to southwest roof are visible on the wallplates. An unglazed window remains in the upper southwest wall, retaining two of three original diamond mullions, with mortices for another window in the northwest wall. Significant reconstruction in brick has occurred in the lower southwest wall. The house was divided into cottages in the early 19th century, with the insertion of stairs, partitions, and a northwest chimney. These features were removed in the 20th century to re-combine the house into a single dwelling. A notable feature is the rebates for twin doors to the service rooms, pantry, and dairy, cut to a height of only 1.27 meters, indicating they were for half-doors, designed to exclude children and dogs while allowing supervision.