Fen Farmhouse

Fen Farmhouse is a former farmhouse dating from the mid 16th century, with alterations made in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The building has two storeys and attics and features a three-cell cross-passage entrance plan that has been in place since the 17th century. Originally, it was a rare example of a smoke-bay house with a sleeping loft beyond. The structure is timber-framed and roughcast, topped with a plaintiled roof. It has an 18th-century axial chimney made of red brick and a 17th-century internal end chimney with a sawtooth shaft.

The house has mid-20th-century casement windows, although some early 19th-century windows can be found at the rear. The entrance door, which is boarded and dates from the 19th century, is located at the cross-passage. The original layout included a service cell with a cross-passage leading to a wide smoke-bay, and to the right, there was an additional bay with a loft above supported by a massive binding joist. The crownpost roof shows signs of smoke-blackening in the smoke-bay. The heavy unmoulded framing features arch windbraced studwork.

In the early 17th century, the house was extended on both the right and left sides. The service end, which originally had a hipped roof, was modified to include a gable chimney and a newel stair. A large upper floor was added to the smoke-bay in the late 16th century, along with a wide open fireplace and a new parlour to the right. Attics were also inserted throughout the building. Inside, there are several moulded oak plank doors and some joinery from around 1800 in the parlour, including a pilastered corner cupboard and a matching fire surround.