Poplar Farmhouse

Poplar Farmhouse

A timber-framed house, formerly a farmhouse, dating from the late 16th century. The building is colourwashed render with a plain tile roof, originally thatched. It is two storeys high and follows a baffle-entry plan.

The garden front features a gabled wing at left of centre, two storeys tall, with lateral casement windows to both ground and first floors and a central gabled chimneystack. To the left of this wing at ground floor level is a 20th-century flat-roofed addition with French windows, above which sits a two-light 20th-century casement with a blocked earlier window to its right. The right-hand flank of the projecting wing has two cross windows to the ground floor and a three-light 19th-century window to the first floor. To the right of this wing, on the recessed axial range, is a half-glazed 20th-century door, to the right of which is a two-light casement. To the left of the door are a four-light 20th-century casement at the far right and a three-light 19th-century casement at the far left, with a three-light 16th-century window with moulded mullions between them. A massive axial ridge stack stands at left of centre with a moulded base, and a further two-flue stack marks the right-hand gable end.

The left-hand side comprises a single-storey 20th-century wing at right, behind which is the projecting 18th-century wing. To the ground floor gable end are three two-light casement windows, and to the first floor a two-light and a single-light casement. The attic contains a four-light 16th-century casement with diamond-section mullions. To the left of this is a 19th-century outshut of one-and-a-half storeys with a stable door to the right and two casements to the left, plus a three-light casement to the attic.

The rear elevation (entrance front) shows the projecting wing of one-and-a-half storeys at right with a hipped roof, featuring a single-light and a two-light 20th-century casement to the ground floor and a three-light casement at first floor level. A lean-to is attached to its left-hand side, with the front door positioned on the left-hand flank of this lean-to. The axial range behind has two two-light 20th-century windows to the ground floor. The first floor shows two two-light casements to the right, a three-light casement, and a single-light casement, with a 16th-century four-light casement with diamond-shaped mullions to the left.

The interior shows significant late medieval carpentry. The ground floor hall features close-studded walling with wall posts displaying stepped run-out stops and tapering jowels decorated with dog-tooth ornament to the top, supported on small consoles. The ceiling beams and wall-plate are chamfered with run-out stops. Two doorways lead to service rooms, one now blocked and one still open. The dividing wall between rooms has since been demolished, and the gabled end wall was also removed when the room was extended. An internal passageway contains a canted ground-floor oriel window, formerly exterior, with five lights to the front and single lights to the angles. This window features double-cavetto mouldings and birdbeak to the underside, a moulded sill, cavetto moulding, and moulded mullions with quirked beads. Close-studded walling remains at first floor level with blocked windows featuring diamond-section and cavetto-moulded mullions, and jowled wall posts. The roof comprises six bays with collars, arched wind braces, and clasped purlins.