Buckingham Farmhouse

Buckingham Farmhouse

House with possible medieval origins, substantially altered in the mid to late 17th century, and undergoing 20th century renovations. The building is constructed of cob on stone rubble footings, colourwashed and plastered, with a water reed thatched roof. The roof is half-hipped at the left end and gabled at the right end. A brick chimney stands at the right gabled end, with an additional axial brick chimney.

The development of the house is not entirely clear, but the early plan may have been two rooms wide, with the right hand end comprising a two bay open hall separated by a partition wall from a passage leading to a solid-walled two storey lower end. The roof structure suggests the third room, adjoining the lower end, is either a rebuilding or an addition. The two right hand roof trusses show only very light smoke-blackening, which may have occurred accidentally. The slope of the site and 17th century features indicate a three room and through passage plan: a hall in the centre heated from a stack at the inner hall, a heated lower end room to the right of the passage, and a lower status unheated inner room probably used for storage.

A rear outshut under a catslide roof is probably an 18th or 19th century addition. A 19th century stair has been inserted in the passage, which appears to have been reduced in width. The chimney breast of the axial stack has been altered, probably in the late 19th or early 20th century, partly blocking the fireplace of the middle room but using the stack to heat the inner room.

The building is two storeys with an asymmetrical three window front. A 19th century brick gabled porch is positioned off-centre on the front to the right, with a further entrance on the front at the left into the inner room. Ground floor windows are three-light casements with three panes per light. The thatch eaves are eyebrowed over the first floor window on the left, which is a two-light casement with six panes per light. The other two first floor windows are two-light casements with eight panes per light. A stone buttress is present at the right end.

Interior: The four roof trusses between the stacks are collar rafters with cambered collars lap dovetailed into the principal rafters, which are lapped and notched at the apex with a diagonally set ridge. The purlins are threaded and roughly chamfered, showing high quality carpentry. The two right hand trusses appear lightly smoke-blackened, and the second truss from the right is closed. The trusses over the left hand end have straight collars halved and pegged into the principal rafters with no attempt at fine finish. The feet of the principal rafters throughout appear straight.

The fireplace of the middle room (the 17th century hall) has stone jambs of squared masonry and an ovolo-moulded timber lintel with ogee stops and a section of decorative carving between the moulding and the stops. The right gable end fireplace is similar. Remains of a plaster cornice were discovered during renovations to the middle room; the unchamfered joists are now exposed. Similar cornice fragments exist on the first floor, suggesting a great chamber above the 17th century hall. A two-light ovolo-moulded timber mullioned window was discovered during renovations in the right gable end on the first floor; the window is blocked externally. The 17th century features are of high quality and suggest a high status house of that period.