Farrants Hayes Farmhouse Including Courtyard Of Farmbuildings Adjoining To North

This is a farmhouse with origins in the 17th century. It was substantially rebuilt, rearranged, and enlarged in the mid- to late 19th century, with some 20th-century modifications. The farmhouse is constructed of plastered stone rubble and brick, with some areas potentially of cob. It has stone rubble and brick stacks with plastered brick chimneyshafts, and a slate roof.

The farmhouse has a four-room plan, facing south. A central axial stack serves back-to-back fireplaces, heating the middle rooms, while gable-end stacks serve the end rooms. The two right-hand (east) rooms are service rooms, and the two principal rooms are to the left, separated by an entrance hall containing the main staircase. While evidence of a 17th-century house exists in the central section, there is insufficient detail to determine its original layout. The present layout is largely from the mid- to late 19th century. A 20th-century service extension has been added to the right-hand end.

The exterior is irregular, with an eight-window front. The left three-window section, representing the principal rooms, is symmetrical around the front doorway, which features a 19th-century part-glazed six-panel door recessed behind a flat-roofed Tuscan porch with a moulded entablature. This is flanked by probably secondary canted bay windows, containing horned two-pane sash windows. The first-floor windows are 19th-century three-light casements with margin panes and remnants of stucco eared architraves with keystones (the right-hand window is blind); the first floor window immediately to the right is a similar casement without the architrave. Further right, there are two single-light windows with matching glazing bar patterns. The remaining windows are PVC casements, dating from 1986, with more to the rear. The roof is gable-ended, and the left (west) gable has ornate bargeboards.

The interior is largely the result of 19th and 20th-century modifications, though some 17th-century carpentry is visible in the center rooms. The former kitchen, to the right of the center, has a plain chamfered crossbeam. The fireplace here is plastered, but its oak lintel is chamfered with scroll stops. The parlour, to the left of the center, has two richly moulded axial beams, but the fireplace is blocked.

The farm buildings forming a courtyard to the north date from the mid- to late 19th century. Part of the west wing has been converted to domestic use; the north wing contains a threshing barn with a horse engine house, and a full-height carriageway entrance. The east wing comprises stables. A tall cob wall projects westward from the outer side of the left wing, between the farm drive and front garden, and contains an arch-headed doorway.