Porch House

Porch House, formerly known as Porch Farmhouse, is a Grade II* listed house located on Bungay Road in Poringland. This building dates back to the late 16th century and was originally a farmhouse. It is constructed from flint, brick, and ashlar, featuring ashlar dressings and a pantiled roof. The house has a through passage plan and stands two storeys tall with four bays and a plinth course.

To the left of the centre, there is a full-height gabled porch with an attic storey. The entrance is rectangular, framed by a moulded stone surround with consoles, and has a quadrant moulded inner doorway. Above the entrance, there is a square niche. The first and attic storeys have three-light 20th-century mullioned windows, and all window surrounds, including those of the porch, are made of ashlar. The fenestration consists of mullioned or cross casements from the 20th century. To the left of the facade, there is a door leading into the kitchen, which retains its original surround.

The house features twin octagonal flues on the gable end stacks, with the north-west flue having been rebuilt. The gable heads are supported by kneelers. There are stairway outshuts on both gables, each covered by narrow sloping pantiled roofs. The west gable includes a 2-light chamfered 16th-century stone mullioned window on the first floor and a similar hollow chamfered attic window, which is also repeated on the east gable; however, the first-floor window on the east gable has been replaced in the 20th century. Both staircase outshuts have one 20th-century window each.

The rear of the house features modest 19th and 20th-century extensions, with the earlier extension made of flint and the latter entirely of brick, both topped with pantiled roofs. There is a doorway and a 4-light 20th-century cross casement to the left of the extensions, along with two timber hollow chamfered mullioned windows on the first floor—one with four lights and the other with eight lights.

Inside, the porch leads into a cross passage with studwork partitions. The kitchen has a wide fireplace with bressumers and a stone surround. The bridging beams are chamfered and tongue stopped. The lounge also has a fireplace, though its bressumer has been replaced. There are winders by both stacks at each end of the house, featuring octagonal newels. The floorboards and most doors are original. The staircase at the high end is blocked at the attic level. The roof structure includes tie beams, diminished principals, clasped purlins, collars, and curved windbracing, with many timbers renewed.