Little Ashley Farmhouse

Little Ashley Farmhouse is a 17th-century farmhouse that has been altered over time. It is constructed of rubble stone with a hipped slate roof and a small ridge stack on the right side. The house has two storeys and an attic, featuring a small dormer window on the front. The front range has 12-pane sash windows – two windows on each side of the centre. These sashes appear to have replaced late 17th-century cyma-moulded recessed stone cross windows. A projecting, gabled porch bay is centrally located, with a 6-pane window above and a studded plank door below within a moulded flush frame with a dripcourse, stepped over a small blank plaque. This dripcourse continues along the left side wall and was originally over at least one ground floor window to the left, but has since been cut back. A 20th-century ashlar canted bay is attached to the porch side on the right ground floor. One window to the right features a pair of sashes within 18th-century raised moulded surrounds. The east side wall includes a single 2-light mullion window with a hoodmould. A projection to the rear left side has a large dormer gable to the left and a gabled stair-tower to the right. The dormer gable has a single light above and a 2-light window with a hoodmould below, while the stair tower has a single light in the gable and a 2-light window at half-level. The northwest angle of the stair tower features several wall recesses. A recess to the right contains 20th-century openings on the ground floor, leading to a former dairy and cheese-room wing, which was altered during a 20th-century conversion. The interior was heavily altered around 1970 when the ground floor was opened up and two large chimneys were removed, one being replaced on a smaller scale. However, original chamfered spine beams with stepped run-out stops, and chamfered joists remain on both floors. The stair tower contains a winding staircase with solid oak treads. The roof retains two trusses, with tie-beam and collar details, likely dating back to the 18th century. The house was recorded in 1665 as a tenement belonging to the Tidcombe family of Little Ashley House. It was sold in 1683 and subsequently bought in 1705 by E. Bailey of Bradford, passing to the Fisher family until the mid-19th century. Evidence suggests the house is mostly of late 17th century, but there is a possible core dating from the 16th or early 17th century.