The Beals

The Beals is a detached house dating from the 17th century, possibly incorporating earlier elements. It features roughcast cob construction with stone footings and some brick patching, topped by a gabled-end slate roof. The long rear wing has a slate and corrugated iron gabled-end roof. This single-depth house includes an integral rear outshut, with a through-passage situated between two main rooms of unequal length, both heated by rear stacks—one of which is external and both have brick shafts. It is suggested that the house underwent a 17th-century modification from an earlier three-room, through-passage plan.

The rear range served as a school in the mid-19th century and is heated by two axial stacks. The house has two storeys and an irregular two-window front. To the left of the half-glazed and panelled door is an early (circa 1800) four: twelve: four pane hornless tripartite sash window on each floor. To the right, the ground floor room and the chamber above are illuminated by exceptionally long windows of equal length, each featuring a single massive lintel. The first-floor window embrasure contains two three-light casements flanking a blocked light, while the ground floor window has eight lights, each with two panes. It has been suggested that these rooms may have functioned as textile workshops.

The rear wing includes a pointed arched doorway and two three-light casement windows, some featuring 19th-century leading, serving the part of the wing used as a school, with other plain openings for the remainder. Inside, the right-hand room has three cross ceiling beams that are chamfered with stops featuring bar and notch designs, while the left-hand room has an axial ceiling beam with a cyma recta moulded chamfer. Some 17th-century panelled doors with HL hinges remain. The roof, which was not inspected, is said to have A-frame principals, collars, and a wall plate all pegged, resting on studding that forms the walling material above the level of the window lintels.