Thorn House

Thorn House is a house that was once a public house, likely built in the mid-17th century with later alterations and a 19th-century addition. It features framed construction, with the ground floor built in Flemish bond brick and the first floor tile-hung. The roof is covered with peg tiles and has brick stacks.

The house faces west and fronts the road. Its core is a 17th-century single-depth, two-room plan, consisting of a parlour and kitchen on the right, heated by an end stack, and an unheated service end on the left, which was originally divided into two service rooms and a stair cell. There is a later outshut at the right end, likely from the 18th century. The house has been extended at the left (north) end with a parlour that is heated by a left end stack, with direct entrance into this heated room.

The exterior is two storeys high and has an asymmetrical three-window front. To the right of centre is a 19th-century plank front door with ornamental strap hinges. There are three first-floor and two ground-floor three-light casement windows, likely from the 19th century, featuring glazing bars, along with a two-light casement window in the outshut. The roof has gables at both ends and end stacks with brick shafts.

Inside, the principal room has a ceiling beam running along the long axis, adorned with jewel scroll stops and exposed joists. There is an open fireplace with brick jambs, and the lintel is dated 1727. The left-hand early room features a scroll-stopped axial beam and shows signs of a former partition. The wall framing is visible on the first floor, including jowled wall posts and a tension brace on the former external south end wall. There is also a 17th or 18th-century attic stair.

Thorn House is an attractive small traditional house representative of the region and has group value with the Standings Cross Public House located opposite.