Home Farm House

Home Farm House

A timber-framed farmhouse of early-to-mid 17th century date, substantially altered and refurbished in the 1990s. The house is constructed with a brick plinth supporting a cement-rendered oak frame of close studding. The main range roof, probably originally thatched with reed, is now covered with black glazed pantiles, while the late-20th century cross wing at the south end has a roof of red pantiles. Brick chimney stacks are of late-20th century date.

The house is aligned north to south and was originally of a lobby-entry and low-end through passage type. The 1990s refurbishment created an L-shaped plan by adding a two-storey cross wing at the south end and blocking up the original lobby entry door.

The principal elevation faces east and is of two-and-a-half storeys with five asymmetrical bays. All windows and doors are uPVC replacements from the 1990s. The ground floor has three-light casement windows to the first and third bays, with two-light casements to the remaining three bays, including the blocked lobby-entry doorway in the second bay. The former low-end through passage, between the third and fourth bays, now contains a part-glazed door of two lights. The first floor has three-light casements to the first and third bays and two-light casements to the fourth and fifth bays. The attic contains two box dormers with three-light casements.

The right-hand return comprises the 1990s cross wing addition, with its left-hand half gabled to continue the original roof line. The ground floor has three-light and two-light casement windows to the left-hand side and centre respectively, with an early-21st century uPVC conservatory projecting from the right-hand side. The first floor has three two-light casements. The left-hand return is blank.

To the rear, the gabled cross wing has two-light casements to each floor. Its right-hand return wall has a horizontal rectangular window at ground floor. The main range's ground floor has two two-light casements separated by an oculus set within the former east-side doorway to the low-end through passage, with late-20th century French windows at the right-hand end. The first floor has one two-light casement and two three-light casements.

Although the interior is now divided by modern stud partitions with contemporary fixtures and fittings, and the back-to-back fireplaces were rebuilt in the 1990s, an almost complete timber frame of early-to-mid 17th century date survives in situ. Much of the timber displays carpenters' marks in the form of Roman numerals.

The ground and first floors are divided into five bays plus a smoke bay by large chamfered ceiling beams, all featuring elaborately carved ogee and nicked stops. Common ceiling joists are of light scantling and fairly deep section with nail holes for laths suggesting the ceilings were once plastered. Principal posts have long jowled heads connected to tie beams and wall plates by standard assembly methods. Empty mortices show that arch braces originally extended from the principal posts to the tie beams but have since been removed. Apart from the principal posts and some studwork to a first-floor partition wall, surviving studwork is not exposed, though peg holes mark their positions. A small section of the west-side bressumer in the north-end room was replaced in the 1990s.

The south side of the ceiling beam to the former low end shows evidence of a former partition fixed to the beam with half-lapped and dovetail joints. Since these joints were cut in the beam's south face rather than the underside, the partition appears to have been a later insertion. A mortice at the beam's centre held a now-removed post corresponding to subdivision of the lower end into two unheated service rooms.

Access from ground to first floor is by a wooden winder staircase in its original position, though the treads and risers are probably 18th or 19th century replacements. Above it is a smaller straight-flight and winder staircase providing access to the attic in its original position, with treads and risers believed to be original.

The A-frame roof comprises principal trusses not directly corresponding to the tie beams and fixed to the wall plates. It has simple collared principal rafters, some now removed, and two sets of butt side purlins.

Although the house was extended with a two-storey cross wing in the 1990s, the principal posts at that end still appear to survive, displaying mortices for now-removed braces.

The early-21st century conservatory adjoining the 1990s cross wing is not of special architectural or historic interest.