Merrifield

This is a house, likely dating back to the 17th century or earlier, with significant remodelling in the 18th century and a rear extension added in the 19th century. The house is constructed of roughcast stone rubble, with a bituminised slate roof that is gabled at the west end and half-hipped at the east end. Brick chimney shafts are visible on both end and axial stacks. Originally laid out with a 3-room plan and a through-passage facing south, the house features a large, two-story porch to the front, which encloses a well to the right of the front doorway. The large room on the left and the room on the lower right have gable-end stacks, while the hall has a large porch. The left-hand room is raised and contains a newel staircase in the rear left corner.

In the 18th century, the through-passage was widened slightly, and the lower end room was remodelled and panelled into a small parlour, incorporating an axial passage at the back. A straight staircase rises on the lower left side of the through-passage partition. A single-story outshut behind the hall and inner room is likely from the 18th century, while the outshut behind the lower end was added in the 19th century.

The exterior presents a long, asymmetrical 4-window facade, with 20th-century 2 and 3-light casement windows with glazing bars. The front doorway is to the right of centre, with a large 2-story porch featuring a hipped roof and a 20th-century plank door, set within a wooden open porch. The rear elevation has single-story outshuts with slated lean-to roofs and 20th-century casements with brick jambs.

Inside, the hall has no exposed features. The inner room retains unchamfered ceiling beams, a chamfered fireplace lintel, and stone newel stairs leading to the chamber above. The lower-end room features 18th-century panelling with a cornice and a round-headed china-cupboard with fluted pilasters and shaped shelves. A later chimney-piece with a bracketed shelf is also present. Floors are mainly slate. Much of the 18th-century joinery remains, including fielded 2-panel doors on both ground and first floors. The staircase is enclosed and has moulded handrails. The chamber above the inner room has a small fireplace with a chamfered wooden lintel. The roof over the lower right end is a 19th-century structure with lapped and pegged collars. The roof over the hall and inner room was inaccessible during a 1988 survey, but the feet of straight principals over the hall and curved feet to what is probably an original truss over the inner room were exposed.