Welspen Thatch

Welspen Thatch is a house dating from the early 18th century or earlier, which was restored after a fire in 1983, with further work completed in 1984. It features a timber frame on a stuccoed sill and is weatherboarded, topped with a steep, half-hipped thatch roof that extends over a rear outshut. The house is 1½ storeys high and has a three-cell layout with an internal chimney and a lobby entry, facing south with the chimney positioned a third of the way from the original west end. The staircase is now located in the eastern service end. The south front includes four windows and three swept dormers at the eaves, which were previously just one dormer for the hall. The windows are 2-light flush, small-paned casements. There is a gabled front porch with a battened door. Inside, the house features exposed timbers, thin studs, straight tension braces, and wide open brick fireplaces with timber lintels. The posts are unjowled, and the floor and lean-to roof are supported on ledges pegged to the walls. The main beams are axial, and there is a face-halved bladed scarf in the wallplate. The roof has clasped purlins with thin poles supporting the thatch.