Barnes Street Farmhouse

Farmhouse, divided into 2 cottages. The building has late 15th and early 16th century origins, but was largely rebuilt and rearranged in the late 17th century, with various late 19th century alterations and additions, probably associated with the subdivision of the farmhouse. The main block is timber-framed with the ground floor underbuilt in Flemish bond brick. The front is whitewashed, with timber framing above clad in weatherboards on the front and peg-tile on other sides. Extensions are in Flemish bond brick. The building has brick stacks and chimneyshafts, with original staggered chimneyshafts to the main block and a peg-tile roof.

The former farmhouse is set back from the lane and faces north-northwest. The main block has a 3-room lobby entrance plan. The right (west) end room was probably the kitchen with a dairy outshot on the end; the centre room the parlour; and at the left end an unheated service room. A large axial stack between parlour and kitchen serves back-to-back fireplaces. The main stair is a straight flight to the rear of the stack and from the parlour. A single storey bakehouse with a rear end stack to the rear of the former kitchen is probably 18th century. Alongside it and behind the main stair, a 2-storey one-room plan service wing with a rear gable-end stack is probably 19th century. A late 19th century parlour was built in front of the former service room, with its roof parallel to the main block and a projecting gable-end stack.

No 1 is the left-hand cottage occupying the front parlour, the 2 main block rooms left of the stack and the 19th century rear service block. No 2, to the right, occupies the rest.

The main house is essentially late 17th century but there is evidence at the left (east) end of an earlier house, narrower than the late 17th century house and jettied on the west and south sides.

The building is 2 storeys with disused attics in the roofspace, a single storey bakehouse to the rear and a lean-to outshot on the right (west) end.

The front has a 1:2-window arrangement, including a couple of late 19th century tripartite sashes containing centre 4-pane sashes and a contemporary canted bay window to the front parlour block containing a sash missing its glazing bars. The other windows are 20th century casements with glazing bars. The front doorway (used by No 2) is right of centre and contains a 19th century 6-panel door under a flat hood. The main roof is half-hipped to the left and hipped to the right where the pitch continues down over the dairy outshot. The ridge at the right end returns back to a rear gable. The rear has an irregular arrangement of mostly 20th century casements except for the 2 first floor windows to the rear of No 1, which are probably late 17th century 3-light windows with flat-faced mullions containing rectangular panes of leaded glass. The east end wall of the main block has an unglazed dairy window at ground floor level, a 12-pane sash to the first floor, and a loading hatch doorway to the attics.

The only evidence showing of the 16th century house is from the east end service room (No 1), with joists of large scantling showing evidence of jetties. Most of the carpentry detail in the rest of the house is hidden by later plaster but the late 17th century (and possibly earlier) structure is thought to be well-preserved. All the fireplaces are blocked. The former kitchen (in No 2) and chamber above have chamfered and scroll-stopped beams. Most of the joinery detail is late 19th and 20th century although the main stair (in No 1) is late 17th century, with square newel posts and turned balusters. The main block roof is of collared tie-beam trusses with staggered butt purlins.

Nos 1 and 2 Barnes Street Farmhouse is one of a good group of listed buildings in the vicinity of Barnes Place.