Pitter's Farm

Pitter's Farm

A Queen Anne style house built around 1925 to a design by Sir Edward Guy Dawber for Major H R Yorke. The building incorporates an earlier farmhouse dating from around 1843.

The house is constructed in red brick and stone rubble with stone ashlar quoins, covered by a hipped stone-tiled roof with a flat roof to the centre. It features tall external full-height stacks in brick and stone rubble to the north and east elevations, and a central brick stack to the south-west front.

The building is two storeys high with an attic and has an elongated plan. The main entrance faces south and leads to a central hallway. A door to the left of the entrance opens into a large hall, which provides access to the parlour and dining room located in the west cross wing. The staircase rises to first-floor bedrooms from the hall. The kitchen and servants' hall occupy the eastern part of the earlier farmhouse. A narrow passage runs through the single-storey east wing, which contains the kitchen (formerly the dairy and separating room) and was recently extended by two bays. The original kitchen is now used as a small lounge, and the former larder and heating chamber have been converted to a utility room. Servants' stairs at the end of the hallway lead to the upper floors and two bedrooms in the attic.

The south elevation is irregular, comprising five bays. Three bays to the right belong to the earlier house, whilst the projecting dining room, parlour and service rooms occupy the left side. The main entrance features a raised and fielded door set within a bolection moulded stone surround, topped with a broken scroll pediment containing a pedestal with a ball finial at its centre. A tall stair window with two by three fixed light mullions is positioned above. Flat-faced stone mullions appear throughout the exterior, and four small dormers light the attic.

The north elevation is built in local stone rubble, except for a slightly recessed bay to the west and an attached porch to the east, both executed in red brick. A tall external stack in stone and brick rises to the right, alongside a canted bay window with a stone-tiled roof. A mid-19th-century timber water pump survives in situ to the left of this elevation. The pump is marked on the 1887 Ordnance Survey map and was drawn by Dawber on his 1924 survey of the earlier farmhouse.

The interior retains some original features from the former farmhouse, but most dates from the early 20th century and remains largely intact. Internal elements include panelled doors with brass knobs and moulded architraves; decorative wrought iron window furniture in Arts and Crafts style; brass plate light switches and radiators throughout; and cornices of varied designs to the main rooms. The oak staircase features alternating fluted and turned balusters with coffered panelling on its underside. The parlour contains oak plank flooring and a Tudor style stone fire surround. The dining room, also with oak floors, has a broad bolection moulded stone fire surround. At first-floor level, the landing is defined by plain round arches to either side and includes a built-in linen cupboard and a dressing room positioned between two bedrooms in the west wing. The dog leg service stair is executed in plain Arts and Crafts style with slender stick balusters and newel-posts that drop below the stringcourse.