Old Farmhouse at Fir Tree Farm is a Grade II listed building in the East Hertfordshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 26 May 1983. House.

Old Farmhouse at Fir Tree Farm

WRENN ID
ragged-threshold-umber
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
East Hertfordshire
Constituency
North East Hertfordshire MP: Chris Hinchliff (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
26 May 1983
Type
House
Address
Old Farmhouse at Fir Tree Farm, Ardeley
OS grid reference
TL 320 266
Coordinates
51.92312, -0.08077
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Old Farmhouse at Fir Tree Farm is a house dating from around 1600, which includes a 16th-century two-bay crosswing on the west side. The building has been altered and fronted in brick around 1800. It features a timber frame that is roughcast and partly weatherboarded, with a red brick front and steep old red tile roofs. This two-storey T-plan house faces north, with the crosswing on the west side and a large central chimney with a cruciform shaft located at the junction of the wings. There is a lobby-entry at the front and a staircase in the rear angle, along with a small projection for the lobby that aligns with the front of the wing.

The rear lateral internal chimney and a stop-chamfered axial beam in the eastern room suggest that this area was originally an unheated parlour. The west wing serves as a service wing, with the west bay dating to around 1800 and a lean-to dairy extension. The upper floor of the west wing features exposed close-studding and tension bracing. The north front has three windows on each floor, plus a small upper window beside the porch. The windows are heavy flush wooden casements with three and four lights, set under segmental arches. The door, also under a similar arch, has a heavy frame.

The triangle of the north gable of the crosswing is weatherboarded, while its ground floor is constructed in early 17th-century brickwork, possibly representing the underbuilding of a jetty from around 1600. An open fireplace and oven have been added in the crosswing along with the west bay. Inside, there is a good pilastered 18th-century fire surround in the hall and an early 18th-century corner cupboard that is half-glazed with a hemicyle top. The house features 17th-century moulded plank doors, and a stair trap is still in use, providing access to the upper floor of the crosswing.

Local climate

Old Farmhouse at Fir Tree Farm sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 86% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 78% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 57% of listed buildings. Of these, 17 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • Radon risk assessment
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