Outbuilding At Hubbards Farm

The outbuilding at Hubbards Farm is a late medieval 'long house'-type structure dating from around 1500, with additions made at the south end that have been dated by dendrochronology to 1579. It features an oak frame and a red clay tile roof. The building consists of six bays: the northern three bays are part of the original house, while the two-bay extension for stables was added in 1579, with a subsequent southernmost bay added later.

The structure is two storeys throughout, except for the northern two bays, which maintain the original late medieval double-height hall layout with smoke-blackened timbers. The east and north exterior walls have been rebuilt in yellow stock brick, likely in the early 19th century, and there is a post-1970 garage door with a concrete lintel on the east wall. The south and west walls are covered with weather-boarding over the original timber framing. The roof is hipped at the south end and features clasped purlins with diminished principal rafters throughout, with common rafters pegged through to the purlins in the south extension.

An arch-braced collar truss is located over the center of the south extension, with a second truss added after the original truss failed structurally. The central cross frame at the open hall end has small braces to the tie-beam and shows evidence of an original bridging beam that spanned across the building at first floor level. The original floor frames have been raised, and many areas still contain original lath and plaster infilling held with hazel or willow ties.

Historically, this building is significant as it represents one of the few surviving examples of the 'long-house' pattern, which was used for both humans and animals under one roof. Its importance is enhanced by its unmodernized, open hall configuration, which has never had a chimneystack or additional floor inserted.