Abbey Meadow Farmhouse

Abbey Meadow Farmhouse is a farmhouse of late 16th to early 17th-century date, with later 17th or 18th-century extensions and some 19th-century modernisation. It is built of local stone and flint rubble with some large Beerstone ashlar quoins. The stone rubble stacks are topped with 19th and 20th-century brick. The main house is roofed with thatch, while the lean-to outshots have slate and corrugated iron coverings.

The farmhouse follows a 3-room plan and faces west-south-west. At the left (north) end is a parlour with a gable-end stack, which is wider than the rest of the house. Between the parlour and the kitchen is a cross passage, possibly a former through-passage. The kitchen contains an axial stack that backs onto a small unheated room at the right (south) end, which was probably a dairy or pantry. The house is 2 storeys with secondary outshots to the rear and on the left (north) end.

The front elevation shows irregular fenestration with three ground floor windows and one first floor window. These are mostly 19th and 20th-century casements with glazing bars, except for the ground floor left window (serving the dairy/pantry) which is unglazed. An oven housing projects immediately to the left of this window. The passage front doorway is left of centre and contains a probably 19th-century studded plank door. The parlour section is slightly taller than the rest, causing the roof to step down from parlour to passage, and is hipped at each end. The right (south) end is supported by a pair of large raking buttresses. The rear elevation contains casements similar to those on the front, except that one contains rectangular panes of leaded glass.

The interior was not available for full inspection at the time of survey. Most visible features appear to result from 19th and 20th-century modernisation. Ground floor carpentry detail is largely plastered over and both fireplaces are blocked by 19th and 20th-century grates. The only exposed beam is the axial beam in the parlour, which is chamfered with step stops and dates to the late 16th to early 17th century. The roof structure was not available for inspection. A full internal survey is recommended before any major modernisation or alterations, to avoid disturbance of potential 16th or 17th-century features.