Furzeman'S House

Furzeman's House is a detached house located on the east side of West Street in Corfe Castle. It has late medieval origins and features an open-hall form. The building was altered around 1600 with the addition of chimneys and upper floors. The walls are made of rubble stone, and it has stone slate roofs with coped gables, along with stone end stacks, one of which is situated to the right of the door.

The house has a three-room and cross-passage plan and stands two storeys tall. A gabled porch leads to an inner oak ledged door from around 1600, which is set in a four-centred arched opening. On the ground floor, there are three stone mullioned windows with lead lights and hoodmoulds (one of which is a restoration), as well as a small casement window with glazing bars. The first floor features two stone mullioned windows with lead lights, one casement window with a centre horizontal bar, and one 20th-century casement window. There is also a 20th-century lean-to at the left end, which has an artificial stone slate roof and a ledged door.

Inside, the parlour at the right end has a large open fireplace with a stone four-centred arch and deep chamfered and stopped ceiling beams. There is a circa 1600 oak panelled partition between the parlour and the hall. The hall also contains a large open fireplace with a stone four-centred arch, backing onto the cross-passage, and features deep chamfered ceiling beams. A four-centred arched doorway connects the hall to the cross-passage. The original kitchen, located to the left of the passage, has a large open fireplace with a stone four-centred arch (partially built up) and a chamfered ceiling beam.

On the first floor, there is a timber-framed partition with a four-centred arched doorway. The room above the hall includes a stone fireplace with a four-centred arch. The roof is constructed using jointed cruck, and the central truss of the original two-bay hall has curved struts, located just south of the inserted central chimney stack. There is no evidence of smoke-blackening, indicating that the hall was likely unheated.