Quicks Farmhouse

Quicks Farmhouse is a timber-framed farmhouse, now a house, dating to the earlier 17th century with later alterations, most notably in 1859, and a late 20th-century restoration. The front is red brick, with gable ends and part of a rear wing; the rest of the structure is plastered and colourwashed. It has a pantile roof with brick ridge and rear wing stacks. The unusual plan is likely lobby-entry, comprised of a central hall with parlors to the left and right and a wing to the rear left.

The main front, facing the garden, has a 5-window range at the first floor, featuring three 3-light wooden mullion and transom windows with two small single-lights in between. A part-glazed door is centrally positioned, flanked by 3-light casements. The right gable end contains a part-glazed door in an outshut and a 4-light casement with a 2-light window above. The left gable end, which incorporates both early brickwork and mid-19th century brickwork, has a 3-light casement with two 2-lights over, a part-glazed door to the rear wing, and a further 3-light casement. The rear elevation displays an outshut and a square plaque above, inscribed ‘REPAIRD 1859 Z-T T-G’, alongside windows and another door.

The interior retains elements of tall panel framing, including bridging beams with lamb’s tongue (or ogee) stops, and original ceiling joists. The original plan form survives with a central hall and a parlor (now kitchen) on the right, which feature back-to-back open fireplaces within a large, probably 18th or early 19th century brick stack, likely originally incorporating a front lobby-entry. The central hall retains an original doorway to the rear. The large reception room to the left has an open fireplace on the rear wall (with a renewed bressumer) and, behind it, a further large fireplace incorporating a 19th-century bread oven. This room, now the dining room, was originally open to the roof but was ceiled in the late 17th century and retains wide floorboards; the gable end framing is also visible on the upper floor. The original large stack and hood remain. The rear wing contains a 2-bay clasped purlin roof with windbraces, along with a possibly original staircase to the side of the stack.

The upper part of the front range was modified in 1859, when the front wall was covered in brick (the wall’s thickness suggests that some timber framing may remain within it) and the roof was raised. Two fireplaces with cast-iron grates remain in the bedrooms. The roof-space of the rear outshut reveals small areas of original, unwhitewashed or stained external finishes of the 17th-century structure, with lime plaster panels between exposed studs and adjacent, slightly later, comb-pattern pargeting. Various 2, 4, and 6-panel doors are also present.

While the original early 17th-century structure has been modified, particularly in 1859, sufficient original fabric remains, notably the unusual plan form of two heated parlors, suggesting accommodation for an extended family. Surviving internal features span the 17th to 19th centuries, including the unusual original external finishes, and the property represents a good example of an evolving farmhouse.