Valley Farmhouse

Valley Farmhouse is a house dating to the late 15th century, originally an open hall with a cross wing incorporating features from the 14th century. A rear range was probably added in the 17th century, with a small later addition to the left. The house was renovated and restored to its original form in the 20th century. It is timber-framed with a plain tile roof and red brick stacks. The main part of the house is a jettied cross wing of two bays, with a through passage and a two-storey service wing. The timber framing has close studding with a middle rail. The front has a plank door within a chamfered Tudor arch. A six-light diamond mullion window is visible in the hall, with a smaller two-light mullion window to the left of the entrance. The service range has a four-light mullion window. The cross wing has three-light cross casements with leaded lights, a jettied gable end, and tension braces to the first floor, with a pent roof over the upper window. The roof is hipped on the right side and has a ridge stack to the left of the entrance, with a further stack to the left return of the cross wing. There are further diamond mullion windows and a plank door, also under a chamfered Tudor arch, to the rear. The rear range has been heightened and altered, and is underbuilt in brick.

Inside, the timber framing is exposed. The open hall has a pair of chamfered posts with arch braces to a chamfered cambered tie-beam, which supports an octagonal crown post with a moulded base and capital, braced to the purlin and collar. There are down braces to the end walls and a shutter groove to the hall window. The through passage to the right has paired doorways to the service range, with plank doors under Tudor arches. The original stairs to the service range run along the rear wall. The inglenook fireplace has a cambered, moulded bressumer containing a moulded brick arched recess on the left, alongside a massive stepped stack. On the first floor of the service range, towards the hall side, there is a blocked elliptical-arched moulded brick fireplace. The jettied range shows exposed framing, including a wall plate with an edge-halved scarf joint and a blocked diamond mullion window. In the centre, there are paired posts with arch braces to a cambered tie beam supporting a short octagonal crown post with a capital of three convex mouldings, likely dating back to the mid-14th century (an attic floor was inserted later). The combination of the roof structure and walling suggests a probable 15th-century reconstruction of this wing. The building is designated Grade I, reflecting its significant historic interest and its importance within the Flatford Mill group. It is currently leased by the National Trust to the Field Studies Council and is used as the Warden's House.