Slough Farmhouse

Farmhouse, dating from the mid-16th century with later additions. The main front range is two storeys and attics, while a section adjoining it to the east is one-and-a-half storeys high, and a rear range is set at a right angle. The main part of the front is timber-framed and faced with whitewashed brick, with the sides and rear rendered; the roof is covered in black glazed pantiles. The house has two internal chimney stacks with plain red brick shafts. Windows are mostly 2-light and 3-light casements, some replacements from the 20th century, two early 19th-century 3-light casements with transoms, and one original 3-light window with moulded mullions. A plank door is set in a plain surround with a wedge lintel. The front range has a two-cell internal chimney plan, with a cross-passage at its east end connecting it to the lower range and an original lobby entrance. Both ground floor rooms have finely moulded ceilings with roll-moulded joists and main beams featuring a complex roll and cavetto moulding with curved stops, the main beam east of the stack being particularly elaborate. Several original windows with moulded mullions remain in situ; one on the south wall has seven lights. The partition dividing the cross passage has been removed, but the outer doorways remain, the north doorway blocked. There are plain exposed joists with original features. The upper floor room to the east of the stack spans two-and-a-half bays, extending over the cross passage, and has been divided into two rooms. Assembly marks are visible on the open truss. To the west of the stack, an original fireplace with a large timber lintel exists, along with a narrow door leading into a closet beside the stack. Remains of a high window with moulded mullions are present, as are two large blocked inserted windows from the 17th century to the north and south. A newel stair beside the stack leads to the original attics. The roof consists of six bays with diminished principals, clasped side purlins and arched windbraces, with the common rafters covered. The lower section to the east of the cross-passage, of slightly later date, replaces an earlier service area and is clearly framed to be attached to an existing building. This section has three bays, with no evidence of internal partitions, and features heavy unchamfered joists, main beams with a chamfer and curved stops, and moulded post-heads. It has a clasped purlin roof with windbraces. An 18th-century service wing was added to the rear.