Pitt Farmhouse At Sx 870 946

Pitt Farmhouse is a house dating from around the late 16th century or possibly earlier. It is constructed of colourwashed rendered cob on stone rubble footings, topped with a thatched roof that is half-hipped at both ends. The house features a left end stack and a stack on the front wall. The current layout is single-depth and two rooms wide, with a through passage located at the right end. It is suggested that the original plan may have been a late medieval open hall house, although this remains unproven due to lack of access to the roof apex. The post-medieval layout likely consisted of three rooms and a through passage, with the inner room on the left heated by the end stack, the hall heated by the front lateral stack, and a lower end room to the right of the passage, which no longer exists.

The farmhouse has two storeys and a two-window front, featuring a projecting front lateral stack positioned to the right of centre. There is a porch with a thatched lean-to roof at the extreme left that leads into the passage. The eaves of the thatch are eyebrowed over the two windows to the left of the stack, which are 20th-century two-light casements. The ground floor windows may be in their original embrasures, including a two-light 20th-century casement to the left and a three-light casement that lights the hall. Notably, the base of a medieval granite cross shaft has been incorporated into the corner of the rear left wall.

Inside, the hall features a roughly chamfered cross beam and a fireplace with a plain oak lintel and a bread oven. There is a brick screen wall between the hall and the passage, which may have replaced an original oak screen. A partly reconstructed winder stair is located against the rear wall. Although the apex of the roof was not accessible during the survey in 1985, two jointed crucks with cambered collars were observed. A closed truss over the inner room partition is believed to consist of wattle and daub, with the hip over the inner end being original. The owner claims to have discovered the original hearthstone in the centre of the floor. Overall, Pitt Farmhouse is an attractive small cob and thatch house with several interesting features and a roof structure that may date back to the medieval period.