Penhay Farmhouse

Penhay Farmhouse is a farmhouse that likely has a core dating back to the 16th century, with improvements made in the mid and late 17th century, and modernisations in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is constructed from plastered cob on rubble footings, with rubble stacks topped by 19th and 20th-century brick, and a slate roof that was formerly thatched. The house has an altered three-room-and-through-passage plan, facing south, with the inner room located at the right (east) end. There are projecting end stacks for the service and inner rooms, as well as a projecting rear lateral stack for the hall. The building is two storeys high and features an irregular five-window front, which includes a variety of late 19th and 20th-century casements, some of which are iron-framed and all have glazing bars. A 20th-century fixed pane window with leaded panes, located slightly left of centre, blocks the former front passage door. The current 20th-century door is immediately to the left, leading to the service room. The roof is gable-ended.

Inside, most of the plaster is from the 19th and 20th centuries, likely concealing earlier features. All fireplaces are blocked. The hall contains an early 17th-century ovolo-moulded and scroll-stopped crossbeam, while the inner room features a mid-17th-century chamfered and bar-scroll stopped axial beam. The cob crosswall at the lower side of the former passage and service room has two crossbeams, with ends that are either unstopped or feature run-out or straight cut stops, dating to the late 17th century. The roof has mostly been replaced in the late 19th to early 20th century, but retains an early 17th-century A-frame truss with a pegged dovetail and a lap-jointed collar situated between the hall and inner room, as well as a late 17th-century A-frame with a plain pegged lap-jointed collar over the service room. A sooted truss is said to have been removed from the hall.