The Beeches

The Beeches is a house that was originally a parish poorhouse in the 19th century and later became three or four cottages. It was renovated from a state of dereliction between 1968 and 1970. The building has a core that dates back to the 15th century, with additions from the 16th century. It features a timber frame with plaster and has a plaintiled roof at the front and a pantiled roof at the rear. The house is two storeys high with an attic and has five windows, which are late 19th and 20th century small-paned casements. There is a mid-20th century half-glazed door and doorcase with a gabled hood. An internal stack has been entirely rebuilt in the mid-20th century, while there is a gable stack to the right.

The core of the building includes a former open hall. The open truss features a flat arched-braced tie beam that supports an exceptionally large octagonal crown-post, which is over 2 meters high and has a moulded base and cap, along with four-way bracing. Many of the 15th-century rafters are still intact, along with remnants of the studded front and end walls, all of which show signs of soot. The front wallplate has mortices for a diamond-mullioned hall window, and at the service end, there is a splayed scarf joint that is mostly concealed. An inserted floor includes an axial bridging beam and chamfered joists, while beyond this is a floor of poorer quality with plain square joists, which have been partly cut for a mid-20th century stair. To the left of the stack is a late 16th-century parlour addition, featuring exposed studding, ground floor ceiling beams with traces of original red ochre decoration, and a wind-braced roof of clasped purlin form.