Hillhouse Farm House

Hillhouse Farm House is a timber-framed house, probably dating to the second half of the 15th century. A floor was inserted in the second half of the 16th century, and the house was further altered when a floor was raised, a parlour and chamber bay was added, replacing the north end, and the hall roof was rebuilt. Two large chimneys and a cellar were constructed in the late 16th or early 17th century; a late 17th or early 18th century wing was later rebuilt to the rear of the parlour. Further alterations and additions occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries, followed by 20th-century modifications.

The house has an H-shaped plan, consisting of a recessed centre range and a wing extending to the rear left. It is one storey and attic under a gabled dormer, with two-storey ends. The left-hand cross-wing rests on a ground-floor underbuilding. A massive four-flue stack has been inserted to the left of the centre. Most windows are of the late 17th or early 18th century type, featuring metal casements, horizontal saddle bars, and leaded glazing in wood frames. A door is positioned to the right of the centre, and another is found at the left end within a dilapidated late-19th century flat-roofed porch. The rear and the wing display a mix of leaded and other window types, with a fine chimney featuring two diagonally-set stacks at the rear of the wing.

The interior features stone flags and brick paving on the ground floor, with old floorboards and joists above. Board doors are present throughout the house. In the former hall range, a partition wall between the former hall and parlour retains large arch braces from wall posts to a tie-beam. A large fireplace includes a later bread oven and copper, with a brick sink nearby. A former dairy at the south end has wooden shelves and a surviving window shutter. A wooden winder stair rises to the upper levels. The roof exhibits some re-used smoke-blackened rafters, coupled rafters clasped through purlins and straight wind braces.

In the parlour, there is an inglenook fireplace with a chamfered bressumer, side benches, a wall cupboard and a smoking chamber within the chimney, along with a wall bench. A large-scantling chamfered cross-beam features stepped cyma stops. Other spaces include a summer dairy, a store room, and an east end room with a higher floor over the cellar. A stair with some turned balusters is also present. The parlour chamber has a fireplace with a wooden lintel carved with round-headed fluting and flower and foliate spandrels to a four-centred arch. Evidence suggests a former display window once existed on the north side. The roof within the parlour chamber includes raking queen posts on tie-beams, coupled rafters and clasped purlins, with a re-used head of a former display window.