Brealeys Farmhouse

Brealeys Farmhouse is likely of early to mid-17th century origin, though possibly with elements from the 16th century. It was remodelled in the late 18th century and again in the early 19th century. The walls are rendered cob, with an asbestos-slate roof that is gable-ended on the right and hipped on the left. Brick stacks are located on the right end and off-centre to the left (with 20th-century rebuilds), and a rendered lateral stack is on the rear.

The original plan likely comprised three rooms and a through passage, facing south. The house initially included a hall with a rear lateral stack, a wide through passage to the right, a former service room with an external end stack, and a former inner room with an axial stack to its right. A one-roomed addition, possibly dating from the 17th or 18th century, now functions as a kitchen on the left-hand side. A lean-to outshut, likely of 19th-century date, is at the rear of the left-hand part of the house. An early 19th-century remodelling included small-paned glazing bar sash windows, creating a symmetrical three-window facade to the right. Further external alterations occurred in the late 20th century. The staircase in the entrance passage was probably inserted in the early 19th century. If the house dates from the 16th century, it may have originally been an open hall.

The exterior presents an asymmetrical four-window front, with late 20th-century two-light metal casements. A recessed five-panelled door, with the top two lights glazed, is centrally located between the first and second windows from the right, set within a beaded mitred wooden frame. A 19th-century boarded door with a beaded frame is located in the rear passage. The rear stack features chamfered offsets.

Inside, the hall contains a 17th-century chamfered cross beam with run-out stops, and two probably early 19th-century cupboards with one-panelled doors. A chamfered cross beam is also present in the kitchen. The early 19th-century staircase in the entrance passage has stick balusters, turned newel posts, and an open string with cut brackets. The right-hand ground-floor room shows early 19th-century features including a six-panelled door, a cased beam, recesses flanking the fireplace with moulded cornices, and a window with internal panelled shutters.

The roof space was not inspected, but the feet of probably 17th-century trusses were noted within the first-floor rooms, and the occupant reports they are unblackened.