Portways

Portways is a house that dates from the 15th century or earlier, with some features from the 17th century. It is timber framed and plastered, topped with gabled roofs covered in peg tiles. The building has a 'T' shaped layout, consisting of a low single-storey hall block with attics and a two-storey crosswing at the west end. The hall block features a gabled dormer on the front roof slope, along with two small stacks and a large late 17th-century stack on the flank wall at the rear of the crosswing. The windows are 19th-century casements with small panes, and the off-centre door has an original arched head that is exposed. The front displays old red brick as plinth walls, while the crosswing jetties out at the front and has 19th-century bargeboards.

Inside, the building reveals an open hall and a cross passage from the 15th century or earlier, featuring remnants of a soot-blackened crownpost roof and a service door. There are indications that a crosswing once existed at the high east end, with its flank wall still remaining. The crosswing, added in the late 16th or early 17th century, consists of three bays. Around 1500, a floor with elaborately moulded joists was inserted, along with a contemporary brick stack in the hearth bay, which includes a moulded mantel beam and chamfered brick mullions above. The floor clamps are also moulded, featuring a simple crenellated top.