Lucy'S Farmhouse

Former farmhouse, probably dating from the late 15th century in its origins but mostly rebuilt in the mid to late 16th century with some alterations made in 1623. The building is of framed construction, partly underbuilt in brick and ragstone, with a peg-tile roof and brick stack.

The house has a complex evolution. It faces south, with the left (west) end being the jettied service end of what was probably a late 15th-century open hall house. The eastern face of the frame in this area retains sooting from the former open hearth fire. The higher eastern end was completely rebuilt with a separate frame around the mid to late 16th century and was originally heated from a timber-framed stack at that end. The house probably extended further to the east at this date. The timber-framed stack was replaced by a projecting brick chimney in 1623 (dated above the lintel), with a contemporary stair adjacent to it. The existing plan largely reflects the 1623 arrangement. The lower end is divided into two rooms with a cross passage entrance to its east. The 17th-century hall at the right (east) end was subdivided, probably in the 19th or 20th century, with a small room to the rear. A probably post-17th-century stair rises at the rear of the cross passage, blocking the former rear door. A narrow rear wing once extended at right angles to the main block, accessible from this rear door, but its date of construction and demolition are unknown, though it cannot have been earlier than the mid to late 16th century.

The building is two storeys with a hipped roof gabled at the left end and gabled at the right end. The asymmetrical three-window front displays exposed first-floor framing with curved tension braces of large scantling. The ground floor is infilled with brick of various dates, with a red clay peg-tile pentice along the front. An 18th-century panelled front door with an overlight is positioned to the left of centre to the cross passage. The windows are various two-, three- and four-light timber casement examples. The left (west) return preserves the remains of a jetty with later underbuilding. The rear elevation clearly shows the junction between the medieval and 16th-century frames and the blocked rear door of the passage, with redundant mortises indicating a former rear wing. The right (east) return has a four-light first-floor mullioned window, now blocked internally, that appears to have been part of the 16th-century phase and pre-dates the stack addition.

Internally, the late medieval service end preserves closely-spaced joists of massive scantling in the rear (north) room, with evidence of at least one former stair. The south room is plain. On the first floor, the right-hand face of the frame bears a heavy soot crust on the tie-beam and two mortises suggest the possibility of a canopy or smoke bay associated with the medieval hall. The remainder of the house retains most of its mid to late 16th-century carpentry, including chamfered stopped ceiling beams. A trimmer at the east end on the ground floor gives evidence of the former timber-framed stack. The fireplace has been rebuilt but the date of 1623 above the lintel appears to be original. A chamfered scroll stopped lintel associated with the stair adjacent to the stack suggests that stair and stack are contemporary.

The roof over the lower (west) end is secondary and re-uses medieval smoke-blackened rafters. The roof over the rest of the house dates to around the mid to late 16th century and features a tie-beam with tall queen posts, clasped purlins and wind braces of large scantling.

This is an extremely attractive evolved traditional house which preserves more of its original framing than is usual and is notable for its rich internal carpentry.