Rookery Farmhouse

The Rookery Farmhouse, originally possibly a guildhall, dates to the mid to late 15th century, with a stack inserted in the late 16th or early 17th century, and alterations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The house is timber-framed, plastered, and has a steeply pitched plaintiled roof. It is five bays wide, originally jettied at the right end. The building is two storeys and has an attic.

The ground floor has a 18th-century entrance slightly left of centre, likely marking an original entrance position, featuring a six-panelled door with four fielded panels, a semi-circular fanlight, fluted pilasters, and oval medallions on dosserets supporting a dentilled open pediment. To the right and later service bay is a second entrance with a part-glazed six-panelled door and a 19th-century architrave with shaped brackets to the hood. There are two 20th-century glazing bar sashes to the left. The first floor has three architraved glazing bar sashes and boxed eaves. An axial ridge stack was inserted into the central bay. At the left end is a French window, and on the first floor, a six-pane casement. The attic has a three-light part opening metal frame casement. A 20th-century lean-to porch extends to the rear right, serving the original entrance, and a three-light part opening metal frame casement is located at the rear left. A ground floor canted bay window with transomed glazing bar casements and a tiled head is also present on the rear left, along with a first-floor part opening cross casement.

Inside, the original entrance is located at the rear in the right bay, near the corner, and reveals a chamfered two-centred arched doorway formed from two pieces of timber. The jettied right end wall, now underbuilt, displays large brackets supporting alternate broad joists, a jowled corner post, and shutter grooves for large windows on both the right end and the front right. A stop-chamfered cross axial binding beam between the two right bays rests on stop-chamfered jowled storey posts with early Perpendicular moulded corbels to four-centred arched braces. A broach-stopped binding beam towards the centre, alongside the inserted stack, has similar braces. Framing is concealed in the two left bays. A late 18th-century staircase, featuring a turned newel post, slat balusters, and a moulded handrail, is situated in front of the stack. The first-floor framing is largely concealed and contains large chamfered jowled posts with mortices for large arched braces. Two central tie beams of smaller scantling retain mortices for crown posts and appear to have been in closed trusses with partitions below; chamfered cross axial binding beams and reused roll-moulded joists were inserted to form an attic in the 17th century. In the attic is a 17th-century internal window, ovolo mullioned with three lights and lattice-leaded panes. The roof retains original numbered rafters and low collars without smoke blackening. The right gable end has vestigial scissor bracing, and side purlins were inserted. This is an unusual building, with the original function and arrangements remaining unclear.