Farmhouse At Little Heath Farm

Little Heath Farm is a farmhouse that dates back to the 17th century or earlier. It has been cased in brick, with alterations to the roof and chimney, and a rear wing added in the mid to late 19th century for Lord Brownlow's Estate. The farmhouse features exposed timber framing on the rear wall and inside, with 18th century red brick infill and plum brick casing arranged in a chequer pattern with blue headers. The steep roofs are covered with old red tiles.

The house is two stories tall and consists of three structural bays, facing west, with a 1½ story brick rear wing that contains the entrance and staircase at the west end. The west front has a plinth and three mullioned three-light casement windows on each floor, with segmental arches over the ground floor windows. There is a blocked door opposite an internal chimney, located a third of the way from the south end. A 19th century lean-to extension is attached to the south end and continues along the rear wall to the rear wing.

Throughout the house, there are similar oak mullioned casement windows with divided casements and stop-chamfered mullions. Inside, there is a fine 19th century closed string oak staircase featuring a ball on the newel and turned balusters in a Jacobean style. The exposed timber framework reveals a full-height framed partition between the narrow original northern service bay and the other two rooms. An axial beam is present in the middle bay, with paired chamfered axial oak beams and squared joints in the southern room. There are signs of opposed doorways in the middle bay, suggesting a cross-passage against the partition closing off the northern bay.

The farmhouse shows weathered timbers in the former rear wall by the staircase and exposed framing in the walls of both the ground floor and first floor. There are straight braces connecting the tie beam and wallplate. The roof is likely an original clasped-purlin design, though it has been largely reconstructed with several old rafters. In the rear wing, there is a domed brick bread oven with an iron door, along with a copper located on the opposite side of the gable chimney fireplace. The heads of jowled posts are let into the tie-beam, allowing for mitred chamfers at the junction.