Whitley Farmhouse

Whitley Farmhouse is a farmhouse, now residential house, located in Molland. The building dates from the early to mid-17th century and was remodelled, probably in the late 17th century, with further alterations made in the late 20th century.

The exterior presents a two-storey structure with mixed construction materials. The right-hand gable end and ground floor to the front are built in coursed stone rubble with evidence of old render, while the rendered cob first floor sits above. The rear wing is rendered, probably over coursed rubble, with eaves raised in cob and a rendered left-hand gable end over 20th-century blockwork. The roof is gable-ended with 20th-century slate (probably asbestos) covering, hipped to the right. Stone rubble square stacks with weatherings serve the building.

The building follows a 1-plan orientation facing south-east. The front range consists of a two-room plan with a hall to the right, featuring an external end stack, and a room to the left divided by a partition from the 18th or 19th century, with the stair hall in the right-hand part. A rear wing extends from the right-hand room, containing a narrow room (possibly a former cross-passage, now the kitchen) and a larger room at the far end with an integral end stack and winder staircase in the corner by the stack. A lean-to outshut formerly adjoined the left-hand gable end but was demolished in the late 20th century, when the gable was rebuilt and an integral lateral stack was added to the rear of the left-hand end. Evidence suggests the house may originally have been aligned north-west to south-east (facing south-west) with a three-room and cross-passage plan, later remodelled with the inner room demolished and a single-room addition constructed in front of the hall during the later 17th century.

The front elevation features two first-floor windows and one ground-floor window to the right, all 20th-century two-light wooden casements. A central 19th-century boarded door with beaded frame provides the entrance. External stacks in the right-hand gable end display chamfered offsets. The rear wing (south-west front) has a first-floor two-light wooden casement to the left and two ground-floor two-light wooden casements (left-hand), one with a 19th-century segmental brick head. A central boarded door with a 19th-century segmental brick head occupies the centre.

Interior features include the hall to the right, which contains a late 17th-century ceiling frame with chamfered cross beam. An open 17th-century fireplace with a curved chamfered wooden lintel and bread oven is positioned to the right. A probably 19th-century wooden partition separates the hall from the staircase hall to the left, with a 17th-century chamfered cross beam at the head of the partition. A 19th-century dog-leg staircase provides access. A probable former cross-passage lies between the hall and the rear room, marked by two doors to the hall (one blocked) and one to the rear room. A window at the left end of the former passage features wide jambs continuing to floor level, indicating evidence of a possible former doorway. The rear ground-floor room displays a hollow-chamfered cross beam with stepped run-out stops and wall beams. An open fireplace with stone jambs and chamfered wooden lintel, a cupboard in the wall to the left, and a seat in the window to the right are present. The staircase next to the stack in the left-hand corner was rebuilt in the late 20th century.