Peppershill Farmhouse

Peppershill Farmhouse is probably 17th century, with possible alterations in the early 18th century. It is constructed of stone rubble, painted on the front elevation, with a rear wing of stone rubble and cob. The roof is of rag slate with gable ends. The end and rear lateral stacks are of brick, with the rear lateral and right-hand end stacks being of brick dating to probably the 18th century.

The house is built on a hillside, with the ground rising to the left. The front range features a three-room and cross or through-passage plan. The entrance is located to the left of centre, leading to a hall heated by a rear lateral stack. The hall sits below the original entrance and is joined to an inner room to the right, heated by an end stack. A lower end of the building lies above the entrance to the left and is also heated by an end stack. A lean-to outshut to the rear of the lower end contains the staircase, and a circa 17th-century rear wing behind the hall houses service rooms, including a dairy on the ground floor.

The front elevation’s central section is set forward. The stone rubble masonry, though painted, is of fine quality and incorporates slate galleting, mirroring the masonry in the nearby 17th-century barn and left-hand gable end of Radford. There is a moulded string course above the ground floor on the left-hand side, extending around the central projection before being truncated where the window arches were altered in the 19th century. This suggests that the projection is original or an early alteration.

The exterior is two storeys high, with an asymmetrical 1:4 window arrangement, with the central section set forward. The window and door openings have brick segmental arches, representing 19th-century alterations. The entrance has a late 19th or early 20th-century plank door, flanked by a late 19th-century 16-pane sash to the left and two similar sashes to the right. Four similar sashes are on the first floor. A 19th-century sash is set back to the left, originally with a continuous moulded slate string above, and a 19th-century 2-light casement is on the first floor. A part-glazed 20th-century porch is set back on the right. The interior is not accessible and further inspection may help refine the understanding of the house’s plan and development.