Higher Park Farmhouse

Farmhouse. The origins of Higher Park Farmhouse date back to the mid-17th century, with substantial remodelling and rebuilding occurring at the left end, likely in the 18th century. The construction comprises whitewashed rendered cob and stone, topped with a slate roof that is gabled at the ends, formerly thatched. It features paired axial stacks with rendered shafts centrally and at the left end, although the left-end stack has had its shaft dismantled.

The plan is unusual for the area, seemingly evolving through two distinct phases of building. The original layout likely consisted of a three-room and passage house from the mid to late 17th century, with the two rooms on the right acting as the hall and inner room, heated by an end stack backing onto the passage. In the 18th century, the lower end was rebuilt and extended, incorporating a stack within the former passage adjacent to the hall stack and adding an extra room at the left end. The original hall and inner room were subsequently repurposed as a kitchen and service rooms, while the lower end was upgraded into two main living rooms. Later additions include rear lean-tos and single-storey extensions.

The two-storey facade has an asymmetrical arrangement of four windows and a centrally positioned entrance, accessed via a 19th-century porch with a sloping roof. The windows are timber casements, likely dating to the 19th or 20th century, with glazing bars.

Inside, the two rooms on the right retain 17th-century carpentry details. The former hall features a cross beam with scroll stops and a nick, an open fireplace with stone jambs, a chamfered scroll-stopped lintel, and a 19th-century bread oven. A 20th-century staircase now occupies the front wall, replacing an earlier one. The adjacent room has a roughly chamfered cross beam with a rudimentary stop and a 20th-century grate. The two rooms on the left are more modern, with contemporary grates and two late 18th-century four-panel doors with fielded panels. Boxed-in roof trusses and purlins are visible upstairs over the two rooms on the right; the principal rafters appear straight. An empty space on the first floor, near the axial chimney stack, may be the remnants of a curing chamber.

The farmhouse demonstrates an intriguing remodelling of a 17th-century vernacular building, resulting in an uncommon plan form for the region.