Twin Chimneys Farm

Twin Chimneys Farm is a detached house, formerly a farmhouse dating from the 17th century, which incorporates 16th-century fabric. From at least the late 19th century the building was converted into a pair of cottages, reverting to a single dwelling in the mid-20th century.

MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

The building comprises a timber-framed structure beneath elevations of stone and red-purple brick, all covered by a tile roof.

PLAN AND LAYOUT

The historic plan-form has been obscured by later modifications, though it appears unusual in its arrangement with chimneys set against the central spine wall. Little is known about the extent and form of any 16th-century building that may have occupied the site. The current house comprises two main rooms at the centre and east of both the ground and first floors, each with a fireplace at ground floor level against the spine wall. To the north of this wall runs an axial service bay or outshut extending the full length of the building. At the western end, at a lower level, is a third, narrower bay with an end stack to the west. When the building functioned as a pair of cottages, it is likely that one cottage incorporated the north axial bay and the other the western bay for service purposes, each forming an inverted 'L' plan.

EXTERIOR

The two-storey house sits beneath a hipped roof with tiled covering. A slight break in the tiling of the north pitch, where the roof descends over the north service bay, suggests this section may be a later modification or repair. Three slender stacks rise from the roof—two on the mid-north pitch and a third end stack at the west.

All doors and most windows are modern PVC-u units within mostly recent openings. The brick elevations are generally laid in English bond, except where new openings have required repair. Approximately the western two-thirds of the south-facing elevation have been rebuilt with 20th-century bricks. Additional structural strapping applied in the 21st century wraps around the east elevation to prevent structural damage.

The north elevation comprises lower, irregular rubble ragstone (probably reused material, approximately 1 metre in depth) beneath red brick rising to full height. An off-centre entrance with a timber door opens from this elevation, with a second entrance at the west end through a small porch with a gablet. The west elevation is of irregular rubble ragstone with red brick dressings and galetting present in the joints between some stones. A ground-floor window and an inserted dormer above occupy this face.

INTERIOR—GROUND FLOOR

The off-centre entrance from the north elevation leads into the axial service bay, currently a modern kitchen with quarry tile flooring. Later remodelling of this space is suggested by the roof structure, which comprises a timber wall plate and rafters of narrow, irregular scantling with metal tie rods.

An exposed brick spine wall extends to full height through the centre of the building, with chimney pieces in the ground-floor rooms and spiral stairs to the first floor set against it. The western return of this spine wall, which forms the east wall of the lower west bay, is partly constructed of coursed ragstone with occasional red brick, possibly of Roman origin and likely reused. It serves as a plinth for a timber-framed cross wall topped by a substantial sole plate. Rising from this plate is a post bearing carpenter's marks that continues upward through a midrail to the first floor and possibly the roof. This west bay is divided into north and south rooms and contains an in-situ floor frame of varying scantling, probably dating from the 17th century.

The north room's floor frame comprises roughly worked joists with crude chamfers. A remodelled brick fireplace with a bresummer sits against the west wall. The south room has a floor frame of thin scantling and bears an exposed plaque in the east wall with graffiti dated 1719 and the initial RS.

Both the central and east bays sit at a higher level than the west bay and have been modernised in the 20th century. Each has chamfered and stopped axial bridging beams; the central bay contains machine-sawn joists, while the east bay exposes none. Wide floorboards on the first floor above suggest the floor frames survive substantially intact. Against the spine wall to the rear of both bays are fireplaces. The central fireplace is an inglenook with a bresummer, with some replacement brickwork to the hearth and a modern grate. To its east is a plank door with strap hinges leading to the spiral staircase to the first floor. The east-bay fireplace is heavily rebuilt with modern brickwork and a reworked timber bresummer, with a modern door to the west leading into the north service bay.

INTERIOR—FIRST FLOOR

A modern partition inserted parallel to the spine wall forms an access corridor. A second spiral staircase leading to the roof space and a cupboard (where the central stack can be observed) are accessed from this corridor. Between these features is an exposed timber beam bearing a carpenter's mark and a possible apotropaic symbol comprising two circles with a central line.

The height difference between the west bay and the rest of the building persists at first-floor level, where the cross frame defining the east side of the west bay is exposed. In the north room of this bay, the substantial vertical post observed at ground floor continues, lightly jowled; one downward ogee brace jointed into the dropped tie beam remains, though bracing on the opposite side of the post has been replaced with modern timbers. In the south room (now a bathroom), the cross frame has a jowled corner post with an arched downward brace. The studs are of varying scantling and some are crudely finished. In both rooms, the wall plates, hip rafters, common rafters, and jack rafters are exposed, and the floorboards are wider than modern types. In the central and east bays, no exposed timber wall framing survives, but the floorboards are even wider still, suggesting in-situ floor frames remain.

INTERIOR—ROOF SPACE

The spiral staircase continues to the roof space where a beam atop the spine wall is pegged and jointed into a vertical post and substantial tie beam. The hip structure to the east has been replaced in the 20th century, and additional structural timbers have been introduced throughout. Over the central and west bays, however, an in-situ staggered butt purlin roof appears to survive, featuring cranked windbraces to both south and north pitches, collars, principal and common rafters, all jointed and pegged. The purlins are tenoned into the principal rafters, which are simply coupled at the apex with no ridge piece. Double rows of nails on the lower part of the principal rafters, on the underside of the collars, and additional nails on the common rafters indicate that as originally constructed there was a lath and plaster ceiling extending as high as the collar. Although not easily accessible, the west hip structure appears to remain in situ.