Berry

This is a mid-16th century farmhouse, with subsequent alterations. The walls are rendered cob, with a stone rubble front and a substantial lateral stack.

The plan originally comprised three rooms, though the section of house to the left was rebuilt in the 1990s, when no original foundations were found. The surviving original portion includes a large hall to the right of the cross passage and a parlour at the far right, divided by oak screens. A winder staircase in a rear projection served a first-floor closet and chambers in a separate occupancy.

The exterior is two stories, with a five-window front, although the two bays on the left are 20th century. The front is dominated by a large stepped rubble lateral stack. The windows are 20th century replacements, as is the front door, positioned to the left of the stack, and the open lean-to porch in front of it. A 20th-century conservatory sits to the right of the stack.

The interior retains several fine 16th-century features, including two muntin and plank screens, flanking the hall (the rear portion of the passage screen being removed). Three Tudor-arched doorways remain: one from the passage to the hall, one from the hall to the parlour (the head of the parlour doorway has been restored), and another leading to the winder staircase projection at the rear of the hall. There are complex-moulded crossbeams, one of which has been replaced and features a re-used headrail from a screen. The large hall fireplace has a double cyma-moulded cranked lintel with ogee stops.

The parlour has moulded crossbeams which intersect in the centre to form a coffered ceiling. A later corner fireplace has been inserted; the original fireplace was likely located at the front of the room, now occupied by a large window bay.

The staircase is of unusual design, with a central flight leading to flights winding to the right and left. A doorway to a closet or garderobe is near the top of the left-hand flight. The doorways to the closet and the top of the right-hand staircase have original planked doors. A similar original doorframe leads into the chamber above the parlour, with the remains of a simple planked screen on its left side, from the landing. The roof is an original three-bay jointed-cruck structure with evidence of light smoke-blackening.

Berry was repaired by Captain Peters between 1957 and 1972, after a long period of disuse. While the exterior is unassuming, it contains a rare and important interior of considerable interest.