Farmhouse At Town Farm

Farmhouse. Dating to the late 16th century, it was enlarged and had a floor inserted into the hall before 1631. A brick southern bay was built in the late 17th century, coinciding with the addition or rebuilding of the east wing and the raising of the front elevation in timber framing. The front of the northern part of the ground floor was faced with brick in the 18th century. The farmhouse is timber-framed with red brick infill to the upper floor and brick casing to the ground floor, with red and blue brick to the southern end. It has steep, old red tile roofs.

The building is a large, T-shaped, two-storey house with an attic and cellar, facing west onto the street. The symmetrical front has three windows, with two windows to the left of a gabled tiled porch leading to the front door. A substantial internal chimney with a heavily corbelled top is centrally placed. There are three-light, small-paned casement windows (two lights on the first floor to the left of the porch). The brick front has a plinth and projecting floor band. The right-hand portion is of chequered red and blue brick, with vertical blue brick decorative bands flanking the windows and at each end, and dividing the panels. Windows have gauged flat arches and are plastered. A blocked small window is above the porch. The north gable is roughcast with an attic window, while the south gable is tilehung.

Inside, the northern parlour bay is one step higher than the rest of the house and features squared axial beams and chamfered joists with run-out stops. The unusually long hall bay next to the south has a chamfered axial beam with bar stops, and chamfered joists with ogee stops. These features suggest that a new, elaborate floor was installed when the large internal chimney, staircase behind it, and brick southern extension with southeast diagonal corner fireplaces on both floors were built in the later 17th century. This created a lobby entry plan house, incorporating an inner room and a rear kitchen wing with a gable chimney. There are two-panel doors from the early 18th century within the hall, contemporary with the brick facing on the ground floor of the timber-framed portion.