Old Park

Farmhouse. Dating from the 14th or early 15th century, with later alterations and additions. The house is constructed of cob, rendered and has gabled ends with a wheat reed thatched roof, along with brick chimney shafts. The rear wing creates an L-shaped plan. Originally a 3-room farmhouse with a cross passage, the lower end was originally to the right, and the inner room was adapted into a kitchen with a wing. There are one axial and two external end stacks to the main house, the left-hand stack featuring a projecting bake oven, and one external end stack to the wing. The house is two storeys throughout. The front elevation has a 3-window range. The ground floor has two doors (a third door to the extreme right gives access to a 20th-century lean-to) and three 2- and 3-light timber casement windows, which are renewed. Above are 3-light windows with eaves-level lintels, featuring 19th-century timber casements. The wing has a 3-window range with 2-light 19th-century casements above; there is a door with a small 1-light window, and another 3-light window. The rear of the main range has a 1-light, 6-pane casement window and a door with a 20th-century brick surround. The wing has a door set between two 2-light windows, with no windows at the first floor level. The front entrance on the right gives into a passage, but the rear door is not opposite this. To the left of the passage is a plank and muntin screen, with chamfered muntins which are visible only under the rear staircase. The axial stack fireplace backs onto the passage. The room to the right has no significant features. The hall has a renewed fireplace, and a deeply chamfered, unstopped beam, along with a large internal window sill. A late inserted floor is located one metre above the level of the original lower end, and 20 centimetres above the level of the left-hand room. The left-hand room features a large fireplace and a massive, chamfered beam. The original external entrance to this room faced a rear door, now blocked. The roof is medieval, and heavily smoke-blackened throughout. It includes 2 jointed crucks, one at the left-hand end and one adjacent to the inserted axial stack, both morticed and pegged at the apex with massive cambered collars, morticed and side-pegged, trenched purlins (Alcock, type E). The roof retains original twig battening, heavily sooted. A louvre is set above the original service end and cross passage.