Beeches Farmhouse

Farmhouse. The main section of Beeches Farmhouse dates to the 16th century, although there is a rear section built before 1500. The exterior was altered in the early 20th century. It is timber-framed, with tile hanging to the front and a brick skin to the rear pile, and has an old tile roof. The house is two storeys high with attics, and the front and rear piles combine to form a ‘T’ shape. The front pile, facing the garden, has a four-bay, two-cell plan with a baffle entry and a stack. It features three ground-floor, three-light casement windows, three first-floor three-light casement windows, and one two-light leaded casement window, all in timber frames. A hipped porch addition of the 20th century has been added. A brick stack with two flues has a massive corbelled cap. A central three-light casement window is set under a hipped gable, also with a hipped roof. The interior has a three-cell baffle entry plan. There are two diamond wooden mullioned casements in the ground and first floor rooms at the north side. The structure incorporates stopped and chamfered spine beams throughout, along with substantial framing. The rear pile, dating from around 1500, contains a ground-floor room now divided into two, displaying stopped and chamfered spine beams and stopped and chamfered joists. It also has substantial angle posts and plates, crudely chamfered. An in-built stack is present. A staircase, built in the bay between the 16th and 15th-century sections, features a 20th-century design but incorporates 17th-century style balusters. The rear section (dating from around 1500) has a paired collar and rafter roof, while the front pile has an unusual Queen post truss purlin roof of four bays. A modern wing has been added to the rear.