The Old Farmhouse Including Front Garden Area Wall To East

The Old Farmhouse, including front garden area wall to East

Farmhouse of circa early to mid 17th century, extended in circa 18th century. Built of painted and partly rendered local slate rubble with a thatched roof. The roof is gabled at the left hand (south) end and hipped at the right hand end, with half-hipped gables at front, a catslide outshut and hipped wing at rear. The gable end is rendered, as are the axial stacks, which have short rebuilt rendered shafts.

The original house follows a 2-room plan as the main range. The hall occupies the higher right hand end and is heated from an axial stack backing onto the central cross-passage, which has a 2-storey porch at the front. Beside the axial stack is a newel staircase screened from the hall by a wall forming a short axial passage in front of the hall. The lower left end room was the kitchen, served by a gable end stack. An unheated outshut behind the kitchen may be integral to the original plan. Behind the hall stands an unheated 2-storey wing added in circa 18th century, with a corner stack apparently of 20th century date.

The east front is 2 storeys and asymmetrical, with 4 windows comprising late 20th century wooden 2-light casements with glazing bars, the ground floor examples being larger. The first floor window on the left is set within an eyebrow in the thatch, and to the right is a half-hipped gable. Centrally placed is a large 17th century 2-storey porch with a half-hipped thatched roof, featuring a chamfered round arch dressed slate doorway with a 20th century 2-light casement above and 20th century inner door.

The rear elevation shows the thatch of the main roof carried down over a single storey outshut to the right, and to the left a 2-storey hipped roof wing with a stone stack on its right hand corner. Between the wing and outshut is a small 20th century outshut. 20th century casements are present at the rear. The left hand (south) end has a slightly projecting stack and a late 20th century greenhouse concealing a French casement in the end wall of the rear outshut. The right hand (north) side has various 20th century casements.

The front garden is enclosed by a wall of local slate rubble with rounded capping of stone rubble. In the right hand corner against the front wall of the house is a flight of steps for mounting horses.

Interior features include thick joists in the cross-passage and lower end room. The lower end room has a 20th century brick chimneypiece blocking the original fireplace. The hall contains a chamfered cross-beam without stops and a half-beam in the higher end wall with a bar-stop at the front; the joists are later replacements. The large hall fireplace in the axial stack has a blocked oven and a chamfered wooden lintel, the soffit of which has been cut out later. A stone newel staircase beside the stack is screened by a wall forming a short axial passage in front of the hall.

The newel staircase rises to a small chamber over the porch with an old plank door and original roof structure with threaded purlins. The main roof has been largely rebuilt, probably in the 18th and/or 19th century. The straight principals have purlins which are threaded only at the front, while the collars, which may be reused rafters, are lapped and pegged to the faces of the principals. The roof over the rear wing retains its original circa 18th century structure.