Greystone Farmhouse

Farmhouse. Dating back to the 15th century, it was remodelled in the late 16th or early 17th century and extended in the late 17th, with later additions and alterations. The exterior is of roughly coursed slate-stone, rendered, with hipped slate roofs to the main range and the 17th-century addition, and a half-hipped roof to the projecting rear range. Originally an L-shaped plan, it comprised a former open-hall range with a slightly later, shorter range at right angles to the rear on the right (possibly a former solar). A lower, hip-roofed range was added to the right of the hall range in the 17th century, forming the present T-plan. The front has two storeys. Late 20th-century casements are directly below the eaves of the hall range, with a horned, 16-pane sash window to the left and a segmental-headed, 20th-century metal casement to the right of the central 6-panel door with a narrow, rectangular latticed overlight (stained glass), all beneath a 20th-century, narrow, gabled porch. An integral slate-stone end stack has a toothed red brick capping to the right at the junction with the 17th-century addition, which has 20th-century windows on each floor. The rear has a projecting range with an integral lateral stack with a tall brick shaft to the left and a lean-to to the right. A garage door has been inserted into the 17th-century addition. A wide, infilled 4-centred chamfered archway (possibly not in situ) towards the far right of the hall range has a 20th-century window inserted and a buttress to the left. Inside, chamfered ceiling beams are present in the left and right ground-floor rooms, with mortices for former joists; the ceilings are now raised with 20th-century joists. An infilled inglenook fireplace is in the right-hand room. The rear projecting range has a large, open fireplace with a massive granite lintel and jambs. A segmental-headed stone doorway with moulded jambs leads to a stone spiral staircase to the left, with a segmental-headed wooden doorway at the top of the stairs. The roof of the hall range is visible in the roof space, with the bottom of the trusses projecting onto the first floor. The roof structure of the hall range features arch-braced, cambered collar trusses in five bays, including hips, with the left-hand side retaining the original cambered collar between principal rafters and the right-hand side altered by the insertion of a stack. There are two sets of butt purlins, the upper ones chamfered, the lower ones moulded, with long, curving windbraces between. The original rafters and ridge piece remain. The roof is uniformly but not extensively smoke blackened, suggesting late medieval construction, that the main range was initially open to the roof and was first floored over relatively early. The survival of the original common rafters is unusual. The rear projecting range (possibly a solar) is later, as the purlins and rafters are cut away at that point; the roof structure of this range is early 20th century. The 17th-century addition has a 3-bay roof of standard collar truss type.