Twinaways

This is a farmhouse, now a private house, likely dating from the 17th century or earlier, with a rear wing added around the 1970s. The exterior is stone rubble, partially rebuilt with visible straight joints on the front elevation and rendered on the rear. The roof is covered in rag slate, with a higher hipped end on the left and a lower gable end on the right. A projecting stone rubble chimney stack with set-offs stands to the left of the centre, while a brick chimney stack on the right-hand gable end was probably added in the 19th century.

The original layout is uncertain, but evidence suggests a possible two-room plan with an attached shippon (animal shelter) at the lower end, later converted in the 19th century into a three-room farmhouse. It may have originally comprised a large hall kitchen heated by a front lateral stack, with a turreted stair projection to the rear, which was replaced in the 1970s by a projecting wing. A through passage originally had an entrance to the right of centre, with a blocked opening on the rear elevation, and a stone partition wall to the higher side of the passage, though no evidence exists for a lower partition. The shippon's evidence is limited due to rendering of the rear wall, partial rebuilding of the front wall, and the lack of visible ventilation holes. Floor alterations and the construction of outbuildings on the lower gable end have also obscured any drainage features.

The front of the house is asymmetrical with three windows, and has a 20th-century window to the left, a 19th/20th-century rendered lean-to porch with a rag slate roof and a 20th-century door to the right. A lateral hall stack is to the left of centre, with 20th-century glazed double doors. A blocked door opening with a four-pane casement and a 20th-century two-light casement are positioned to the right. The first floor has 20th-century windows to the left and above the entrance to the right of the front lateral stack, as well as a 20th-century window within a gabled half-dormer on the right. The rear elevation features a two-storey gabled projecting wing to the rear of the higher end of the hall, with a rounded corner at the lower gable end.

The interior includes a blocked fireplace at the lower gable end, a thick stone wall on the higher side of the through passage, a partly blocked lintel to the hall fireplace, and a 20th-century staircase. Ceiling beams and roof timbers have been replaced. The owners added a first floor to the lower end around the 1960s. Despite 20th-century alterations, Twinaways is considered an interesting building and potentially a rare surviving example of a Cornish longhouse.