Thornbank

Thornbank is a house with origins potentially dating to the 16th or 17th century, significantly refurbished, rearranged, and enlarged in the mid-19th century. The construction is primarily plastered stone rubble, possibly incorporating cob, with stone rubble stacks augmented by 19th-century brickwork and a slate roof, likely thatched prior to the mid-19th century. Initially, the house possessed a three-room-and-through-passage plan, set back from the street and facing north. While heavily modified, the fundamental plan remains discernible. A small, unheated room is located at the east end. The former hall and the service end room both feature rear lateral stacks. In the mid-19th century, service blocks were added at right angles to each end, one to the left possessing an outer lateral stack, and a new stair block was built behind the passage between the rear blocks. The house is two storeys high. The front elevation displays a regular, albeit non-symmetrical, four-window arrangement of mid-19th century casement windows with glazing bars and margin panes. The principal doorway, positioned right of centre, is a mid-19th century six-panel door concealed behind a contemporary timber porch, featuring panelled square-section posts and a moulded entablature. The front is plastered to suggest ashlar masonry. The roof is hipped at each end. Matching casements are present at the rear. The interior is largely a product of the mid-19th-century refurbishment, with most of the joinery details dating from that period. A surviving feature is a 17th-century hall crossbeam, stop-chamfered with run-out stops. The hall fireplace has been rebuilt in 19th-century brick. The original plan is preserved, and earlier carpentry detail is likely to be concealed behind the 19th-century plaster. The roof was not inspected during the survey, although the owner reports the possible presence of cruck timbers. Thornbank contributes to a group of listed buildings near All Saints Church. While earlier 16th and 17th century features may be present, the character of the house is largely determined by its mid-19th-century refurbishment.