Wynerfreds

BROOK FARMHOUSE, BROOK LANE, WASHFIELD

A former farmhouse, possibly originally the solar wing of a larger house, dated 1565 by datestone. The building was refronted in the late 19th or early 20th century.

The exterior displays fine coursed ashlar masonry on the original rear and side elevations, with courses of small blocks laced with courses of larger blocks, all set on low stone rubble footings with a moulded string course. The front left corner has shallow set-offs. The front wall has been rebuilt in brick in the late 19th or early 20th century. The roof is of slate, gabled at the ends, with end stacks finished in red brick shafts.

The building is 2 storeys and attic in height. The front elevation is deceptively ordinary in appearance, presenting a 2-window front with a central gabled porch, probably late 19th century 3-light timber casements to the right, and metal-framed 20th century replacements to the left.

The splendid rear elevation to the left-hand block features a notable oriel window supported on a carved head and corbelled out on orders of carved moulding, including beaded ribbon design and scratched ornament. The timber chamfered mullioned window has five lights with one light to each return and plain glazing. Below the oriel is an inscription, not entirely legible but probably reading 'WYNEFRED R.E. MAYNARD JP MS 1565', with the remains of the double-headed eagle of the Worth family. A small first-floor 3-light timber mullioned window with chamfered mullions stands to the right of the oriel, with a similar ground-floor window to the left and a probably 20th century slit window to the ground floor right. The left return has a semi-circular projecting bread oven, possibly a 19th century addition, with some brickwork where it meets the ashlar masonry. A 3-light chamfered mullioned window lights the stair, which also has a very small slit window with timber frame. A 3-light timber mullioned window lights the attic.

The plan form suggests a 3-storey solar wing, with the hall and service end demolished. What survives is arranged as 2 storeys and attic with high-quality carpentry on the first floor, indicating a superior chamber at this level. The ground floor originally contained one room with an internal stack at the left end. A stair to the first floor rises against the rear wall, with a further flight to the attic rising against the left end wall, adjacent to the left end stack. The building was originally single depth.

The ground floor appears to have been one room originally, with deeply chamfered step-stopped cross beams. 20th century grates probably conceal earlier features. The first flight of stairs has timber treads and risers with a chamfered cambered doorframe at the top. The present first floor axial passage to the rear and division into two rooms are probably part of 19th century remodelling. The first floor retains fine moulded unstopped cross beams, which presumably extend above the plastered ceiling of two small closets at the rear. These closets are fitted in above the width of the rear stair and are entered through chamfered cambered doorframes. The right-hand closet is lit by an oriel window. The attic has a floor of wide planks and has been plastered below the level of the collars of the late 19th or early 20th century A-frame trusses. The principal rafters of these trusses are straight and the formerly trenched purlins have been re-sited on the outer edge of the principal rafters. The attic floor drops above the small rooms on the first floor but also consists of very wide planks above them. The function of the attic is unclear; it has a 16th century doorframe to the stair and a substantial floor.

Masonry details suggest that the building extended further to the front, the front probably rebuilt in brick following the demolition of the rest of the house. The adjoining range to the south, now a separate house, was probably added in the 19th century but is not included in the listing.

The remains of a plank and muntin screen with a chamfered cambered doorframe survive in the barn opposite the house and originated in the house.

The building is sited south of the church, facing east, with the church visible from the oriel window. It represents a remarkable survival of a very unusual late 16th century building of high status.