The Ferrets

The Ferrets consists of three houses, now two, located in Hanborough. The building dates from the late 15th century as a hall house and was remodeled in the 17th century. It features cruck framing and is constructed from coursed limestone rubble with a gabled thatch roof, along with brick stacks at the left end and ridge. The layout is a three-unit plan, with one storey and an attic, and it has a three-window range. There are timber lintels above a 20th-century door and windows, as well as a 17th-century two-light wood-mullioned window. To the left, there is a 17th-century chamfered stone stair-light. A bay was added to the right in 1985.

Inside, there are two full crucks with collars, saddled apexes, trenched through-purlins, and some curved wind braces. A chamfered 17th-century beam supports an inserted floor, and there is a chamfered bressumer over a 17th-century open fireplace next to the winder stairs. The 15th-century timbers are of quite narrow scantling, with one being waney-edged.

The houses on the left, numbered 1 and 2, date from the 17th century and were remodeled in the early to mid-19th century. They are also made of coursed limestone rubble with a gabled thatch and Welsh slate roof, featuring brick end stacks. This section is two-storey with a two-window range, and timber lintels are present over 19th and 20th-century three-light casements. An extension was added to the left in the 1980s. The interior of this part has not been inspected but is likely to be of interest.