The Old Homestead

The Old Homestead is a house that dates back to the late medieval period, with an early 17th-century north crosswing and an early 17th-century floor and chimney added to the hall, along with a southern extension and a later rear extension to the crosswing. It features a timber frame set on a red brick sill, with exposed framing and plastered panels, while the ground floor of the north wing and the southern bay of the front are cased in red brick. The building has steep old red tile roofs and is a long two-storey structure set back from the road, facing east. The north crosswing, which has a gabled rear extension, does not project from the main building.

The entrance to the hall range is located at the north end beside the crosswing, leading behind the inserted chimney to the hall fireplace. There is a separate entrance to the south, which leads to a two-bay extension. A large external chimney on the north side of the crosswing features two diagonally set square shafts, while there is an external rear gable chimney on the northwest extension and an internal gable chimney at the south end. The east front has four three-light casement windows on each floor, with the first-floor windows being shallow and the ground-floor windows deep. The first-floor window in the gable north of the wing has small two-light windows on each side at the head, and there is a small ovolo moulded window above the entrance door.

Inside, the hall features an exposed frame with curved braces to the tie-beam of the open truss, which is hollow chamfered. There are remains of wall paintings from the period 1600-1625 on the north wall of the hall, depicting painted panelling with a central flower device in deep red on a yellow/brown background. Additionally, there is a four-centred plastered brick fireplace on the first floor that shows signs of painted decoration in panels and two fragmentary figures. The joists and beams of the inserted floor in the hall are chamfered and bar stopped, while the ground floor of the wing has squared joists but a chamfered beam with a two-bar stop. The external framing of the hall bays is distinct from the square framing of the southern extension.