North Yarde

This is a late medieval house, likely originally the kitchen range for South Yarde. It was remodelled in the early 17th century and re-roofed in the 20th century, with a 20th-century lean-to added to the right end. The construction is colourwashed rendered cob and stone with a slate roof, half-hipped at the left end and gabled at the right, featuring a right-end stack and a modern left-end stack.

The building’s plan suggests it was originally part of a courtyard house, positioned parallel to South Yarde across a narrow yard. It comprises a large principal room, a substantial stack combined with a smoking chamber on the right, and a smaller, originally unheated service room to the left, which may be a later addition. The height of the principal room's fireplace lintel indicates that it may have originally been a single-storey space open to the roof. The ceiling beams date to the late 17th century, and a floor was likely inserted at this time to create an additional chamber. The main house, South Yarde, lacks obvious provisions for a 17th-century kitchen, suggesting North Yarde continued as the kitchen throughout that century. The original roof structure was of cruck construction. A single-storey rear lean-to is likely a 19th or later addition. The smoking chamber was broken through to create a doorway into the 20th-century lean-to.

The south front is asymmetrical with two windows, slightly set back on the left. It features a half-glazed front door, a buttress, and 2- and 3-light 20th-century timber casements. The rear elevation includes a lean-to, two small-pane timber casements, and a recent 20th-century window.

Inside, the principal ground floor room is dominated by a large open fireplace with a bread oven and a chamfered lintel extending across the smoking chamber. The lintel’s chamfer and stop are preserved at the right end, despite alterations made when the smoking chamber was converted into a doorway. A half-beam supporting the joists is fixed to the lintel, indicating that the ceiling is a later addition. A main crossbeam is chamfered with keeled stops, and exposed joists are visible. The roof is 20th-century, with straight principals, replacing the earlier cruck trusses. This is an unusual survival, particularly significant for its relationship with South Yarde.