Higher Sheepsbyre

This is a farmhouse, likely dating from the early 16th century, with probable remodeling in the 17th century and alterations to the right end in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is built of rendered stone rubble and cob, with an asbestos slate roof and gable end brick stacks. The original plan incorporated two rooms and a through-passage, with a former kitchen on the left and a parlour on the right, and a wide staircase filling the passage. There is a continuous outshut to the rear.

Examining the building's structure suggests a complex development history. While the roof space wasn't accessible during inspection, evidence of smoke blackening was primarily found over the left-hand room and the through-passage, whereas the roof structure over the right-hand room appeared clean. The front of the building reveals that the right-hand room was largely rebuilt, with a solid cob wall rising through two stories to the right of the passage. The right gable end wall is entirely of stone rubble, incorporating an integral stack and showing no evidence of a join between the main range and the probably 19th-century outshut. A 19th-century staircase has been inserted into the through-passage, and a previously-existing staircase in the outshut gave access to a now-blocked first-floor doorway leading to a chamber over the right-hand room. The original configuration remains unclear: it's uncertain whether the left-hand room was initially an open hall, with the lower end to the right of the passage potentially floored from the beginning, or whether it served as the service end of an open hall house, with the open hall to the right being rebuilt. Part-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops suggest the left-hand room may have been floored later, possibly in the late 17th or early 18th century.

The exterior is two stories high and has a three-window front. Most of the windows are from the late 20th century, except for the second window from the left, which features a two-light casement window with four panes per light above a three-light window with two panes per light, positioned above a plank door with two glazed upper panels. The interior retains largely intact 19th-century joinery. A concealed, blocked round-headed timber doorway with a chamfered surround, possibly dating back to the 16th century, is located to the right of the through-passage. The left-hand room contains two cross ceiling beams, chamfered to the front half only and featuring run-out stops. A fireplace lintel is concealed, and there is a brick-lined bread oven present. The roof is inaccessible, with the feet of two trusses boxed in. Higher and Lower Sheepsbyre, located close together and facing south, are notable farmhouses that retain relatively unspoiled ranges of farm buildings in their adjacent front farm courtyards.