Moorhouse Farm

Moorhouse Farm is a timber-framed house with a late 15th-century parlour cross-wing and a mid- to late 16th-century hall, partially remodelled in the mid- to late 19th century.

The late 15th-century parlour cross-wing and mid- to late 16th-century hall are timber-framed and rendered, with exposed brick nogging to the ground floor of the front elevation.

The building is roughly L-shaped on plan. The rectangular late 15th-century parlour cross-wing is laid out on a north-east to south-west axis, measuring approximately 5 metres in width and 15 metres in length. The perpendicular rectangular mid- to late 16th-century hall is aligned on a north-west to south-east axis, measuring approximately 7 metres in width and 13.7 metres in length.

The late 15th-century parlour cross-wing is a two-bay structure with a pitched plain tile roof gabled to the north-east and south-west. The timber-framed walls are mostly rendered. It is likely the front (north-east) gable was jettied over the ground floor, however the jetty appears to have been lost. The north-west side is two storeys in height and has a projecting mid- to late 19th-century chimneybreast, four bays of irregularly-spaced windows mostly containing two-over-two pane sash windows, and a half-glazed door in the left bay. The south-west gable is constructed of red brick laid in stretcher bond, with a central projecting chimneybreast, and a casement window to the left at ground floor level and to the right at first floor level. A single-storey gabled extension was added to the south-east corner, probably in the 19th century, and also has a plain tile roof covering. The south-east side has a glazed 20th-century lean-to extension, over which the plain tile roof continues.

The perpendicular hall, added to the east side of the late 15th-century cross-wing in the mid- to late 16th century, is approximately 1.5 metres taller than the cross-wing. It has a pitched roof with a plain tile covering, and a rendered brick stack on the south-east gable. A short extension to the south-east gable, probably the remains of an early 17th-century range, has a 19th-century lean-to roof with a plain tile covering. The front (north-east) elevation is two and a half storeys in height and four bays in width, with rendered timber-framed walls to the first floor, and exposed timber framing and brick nogging to the ground floor over a plinth. The outer bays each have a large gable with a scalloped bargeboard and pointed finial added in the mid- to late 19th century; the left gable appears to have been added in the 19th century to visually balance the right 15th-century gable. Two gabled dormers were added to the roof in the mid- to late 19th century, also with scalloped bargeboards and pointed finials. On the ground floor the second bay from right has a projecting open porch, added in the mid- to late 19th century, flanked by a canted bay window on each side; the canted bay to the left of the porch may originally have been two storeys high. The porch has a pitched plain tiled roof, scalloped bargeboard with a pointed finial, and half-glazed door. Behind the left side of the porch, a pegged lintel shows the location of a former door opening. The mid- to late 19th-century windows contain two-over-two timber sashes in moulded architraves throughout. The south-east elevation has a red brick buttress projecting from each end, indicating the former presence of a 17th-century brick-built range to the south-east. On the left side of the ground floor, a two-over-two sash window occupies the position of an early 17th-century doorway, indicating it opened into the demolished structure. The rear (south-west) elevation is two storeys in height and three bays in width. The render appears to conceal the presence of a former jetty over the ground floor which had an open arcade to an internal gallery or corridor; the inner jetty plate remains exposed in the ground floor drawing room. The first floor has three two-over-two sash windows, and the ground floor has a two-over-two sash window to the right side, and late 20th-century glazed double doors to left of centre.

The interior of the late 15th-century parlour cross-wing was formed of five bays, comprising a two-bay parlour at the north-east end, a narrow stair bay, and two additional rooms to the rear (south-west). The internal partitions are now most obvious in the roof space which preserves a chamfered crown-post above the parlour chamber, and two plain crown posts to the rear. The front roof shows signs of smoke leakage from the former adjoining open hall to the south-east, which was replaced in the 16th century. The ground floor parlour was probably entered from the adjoining hall, as it is today, and retains a fine ogee-moulded ceiling of principal and common joists, the former supported by a shaped corbel block on the storey post. The mouldings are typical of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, and their quality and height indicate the high social status of the building's occupants. The fireplace was replaced in the late 20th century. A later passage was inserted in the rear bay of the parlour, aligning with the rear gallery of the mid- to late 16th-century hall, and now forms the side entrance passage. To the rear of the side passage, a cloakroom and WC have been added within the former stair bay, and a utility room and straight stair, and kitchen in the two rooms to the rear, accessed by a 20th-century lean-to off the south-east side. The south-east elevation of the cross-wing and return of the mid- to late 16th-century hall are preserved within this 20th-century lean-to. The south-east elevation of the cross-wing shows evidence of a blocked door opening into the former stair bay, and an outshot in the return of the two wings that acted as a stair lobby. The stair rose to a landing flanked by doors that opened into the chambers to front and rear. The ornate carved lintel of the front chamber is now situated in a bathroom, following the subdivision of the former parlour chamber into multiple washrooms and a bedroom, and the lintel turned around so it can be seen. The plan forms of the rear rooms largely survive. The second last room has been reduced in size and a corridor and straight stair to the kitchen inserted on the south-east side. Both the late 15th-century cross-wing and mid- to late 16th-century hall retain mid- to late 19th-century four-panel doors and moulded architraves throughout.

The perpendicular hall, built in the mid- to late 16th century replacing an earlier open hall, is rectangular on plan, and south-east of the parlour contains an entrance hall, a drawing room, a small room at the south-east end, and internal gallery which runs the length of the south-west side. On the ground floor, the entrance hall features a mid- to late 19th-century stair. To the rear of the entrance hall an extension to the side passage (formerly part of the internal gallery) provides access to a cellar under the stair and a connection through to the 15th-century cross-wing. Light soot encrustation on the studwork to the left side of the cellar stair, on the side of the late 15th-century parlour, indicates the studwork faced an open hearth within the former open hall. The cellar may be a 17th- or 18th-century insertion, and has brick walls, a later brick-covered floor, and a later stair. The drawing room retains a high degree of timber framing, including a chamfered binding joist. The room was formerly heated by a fireplace on the north-west side, where it meets the chamfered binding joist, however the fireplace was removed, and a fireplace added on the south-east wall flanked by 18th-century cupboards with shelved niches in round-arched classical surrounds. The south-west wall has a screen of open studwork and an internal gallery beyond, 1.5 metres wide, which formerly ran the length of the mid- to late 16th-century hall. The internal gallery had a jetty over, the depth of which can be observed in the door and window reveals on the south-west wall. The inner jetty plate remains exposed and contains a series of wide gaps between its stud pegs that were probably filled either with turned balusters or Tudor arches. At the north-west end of the gallery, the narrow, arched doorway is an original feature, although its arch cuts its jambs after the earlier opening was widened. Many of the studs and the door jamb are grooved, indicating former brick infill. A wider opening near the centre of the screen is a later insertion. At the south-east end of the gallery an improbably small room to the rear of the drawing room fireplace likely represents part of the demolished 17th-century extension. At the south-east end of the gallery, the chamfered jambs of an early 17th-century doorway indicate it opened into the demolished brick structure. The doorway was infilled by a window in the mid- to late 19th century. On the first floor, the landing of the 19th-century stair provides a connection north-west through to the stair hall of the late 15th-century cross-wing. A room off the south-east corner of the landing has a partly chamfered binding joist, indicating the former presence of a chimney which has been removed. A corridor runs along the front of the building, probably introduced in the 18th or 19th century, and provides access to the parlour chamber of the late 15th-century cross-wing, a large bedroom to the south and a bathroom at the south-east end. To the right of the parlour chamber door, the corner post of the mid- to late 16th-century range contains an empty mortice for an arch brace to its tie beam, demonstrating that it was open-framed on the first floor against the earlier range. Along the corridor, stud pegs and mortices provide evidence of former door openings. The structure of the wind-braced purlin roof and an unusual transitional scarf joint point towards a construction date around the 1570s or 1580s. A small number of wind braces were removed from the front slope when two dormer windows were added in the mid- to late 19th century.