Red House Farmhouse

Farmhouse. Dating from the early 16th century, it originally comprised three cells, with a one-bay addition built in the early to mid-17th century at the service end, creating a long, continuous range. The farmhouse is timber-framed, with particularly fine exposed studding and herringbone brick nogging on the north front and east gable. These sides have a jettied first floor supported by plain brackets springing from carved buttress shafts, incorporating a plain, heavy corner post and a moulded bressummer. The 17th-century addition has a red brick parapet gable, and matching brick nogging on its north side, though lacking the jetty. The south facade is plastered and lined to resemble ashlar. The roof is now covered with 20th-century plain tiles.

The farmhouse has two storeys and an attic. The south (entrance) front has four windows, which are mid-20th century casements. A gabled porch, dating from the early 17th century, is centrally positioned and features turned balusters in the side openings. A battened door, also from the mid-20th century, is within the porch, alongside a second door to the right. Two internal stacks are present, with sawtooth shafts, one of which has a moulded base containing an inset panel. The north front displays a blocked cross-entry doorway with a moulded surround, alongside evidence of numerous original windows, some of which are blocked; one window in the parlour remains, featuring a deep sill. A lean-to addition reuses carved 16th-century timbers.

The original range is divided into five bays, containing a two-bay hall with good moulded cross-beams and simply-moulded joists. The cross-entry was located in the upper bay, an unusual design, alongside a single-bay parlour. Virtually all timbers in the parlour are concealed except for a simply-moulded axial bridging beam. Beyond the lower end of the hall was a smoke bay, which was replaced relatively soon afterward by the current stack, positioned between the hall and parlour. The service cell was divided axially, with one room further partitioned. The side walls of this end originally featured continuous mullioned windows. On the north side, there is a blocked four-centred arched doorway and moulded mullions, suggesting this room may have served as a second parlour. A 17th-century stack was inserted at the service end. Much of the first-floor framing is concealed. The original range has a queen-post roof, with one-way bracing to the arcade plates, with only the open truss over the hall chamber having collar braces. One truss includes tension braces from the tie beam to each queen-post. At the parlour end, there is an early 17th-century side purlin roof, added when the attic was created. Two newel staircases lead to the attics. One good 16th-century door retains its fully-moulded face.