Northleigh Hill

This is a farmhouse, now a house with a former barn and stables attached, which have been converted into part of the dwelling. The building incorporates fabric from the early 16th century or possibly earlier, although it was remodelled in the 17th century. The construction is whitewashed rubble and cob, with a slate roof and gable-end stacks, the left-hand stack being massive and later heightened in brick. Originally an open-hall house, floors and a stack were inserted in the 17th century. The stack is unusually positioned, creating a lobby entry; it’s possible that the narrow lower end of the house once formed a cross-passage. The converted barn and stables are adjoined to the left end. The north side has a two-window arrangement on the upper floor, with a 20th-century single light to the left and a two-light window to the right, each containing two panes of glass. The ground floor features a three-window range of 19th-century two-light casements, with an inserted fixed light at the right end. A two-storey extension with a lean-to slate roof projects slightly at the right end of the south side. A recessed 17th-century doorway is located on the left, featuring an ovolo-moulded surround with weathered stops. A 17th-century three-plank ledged door, with cover strips and an ovolo-moulded surround with scroll-stopped jambs, is located to the left of the lobby entry. Chamfered beams are present in the hall, and a fireplace lintel is also chamfered. There are twin scroll-stopped door surrounds at the head of the stairs, which enter the hall through a similar door surround, with the doors facing the stairs. Foliated plasterwork is on the inner wall of the chamber above the inner room. The rafters and a section of the purlins show heavy smoke-blackening, although three trusses have been replaced.