Belford

Belford is a house dating from the early 19th century, likely a remodelling of an earlier structure. The walls are whitewashed cob on stone rubble footings, with some exposed timber framing to the first floor of the main block, and it has a slate roof, originally thatched, with hipped ends. There are stacks on both ends, one with a dismantled shaft. The house follows an “L” shaped plan, featuring two principal rooms at the front, one on either side of a through passage. A rear wing contains the staircase (behind the passage) and a rear service room. A single-storey kitchen was added in the 20th century, replacing an earlier kitchen in the angle between the wing and main block. A former stable adjoins the end of the rear wing. The thick walls of the main block suggest it was built on the foundations of a previous, smaller two-room house.

The house is set back from the road and has a deep garden at the front and rear. The symmetrical front has three bays, a 1920s gabled porch, a panelled front door, and small-pane sash windows dating from the early 19th century; three windows to the first floor, and two to the ground floor. The left return has three sash windows and a side door leading into an axial passage. The interior contains early 19th-century joinery and carpentry, including a stick baluster staircase with a mahogany ramped handrail and bobbin-turned newel post, and a 20th-century fireplace. The roof of the main block has collar rafter trusses with pegs and metal fixings; the wing has conventional early 19th-century king post and strut trusses. Belford is a well-preserved house, attractively situated in the centre of the village.