Westlake Farmhouse

Westlake Farmhouse

A farmhouse originally built around 1500, with alterations and additions dating from the 16th and early 17th centuries, and a 19th-century addition. The main structure is constructed of plastered cob and rubble walls, with a slate roof that is gabled to the right and rear wing, and hipped to the left. A slightly projecting plastered rubble lateral stack stands at the front, with a further rubble stack at the gable-end of the rear wing.

The building follows a 3-room-and-through-passage plan with the lower end to the right. Originally, the hall was open to the roof from end to end with a central hearth. The lower end was floored probably soon after the house was built, with its chamber projecting slightly into the open hall. The rear wing, which cannot be dated precisely without inspection of its roof timbers, is unlikely to be later than the early 17th century and, being heated by a gable-end stack, functioned either as a kitchen or parlour. The hall itself was unlikely to have been ceiled until the mid-17th century, when a straight flight staircase was added in a projection to its rear and a lateral stack was fitted at the front. The passage along the rear of the hall was inserted at an unclear date, though its headbeam is a 17th-century timber running opposite to the direction of the hall ceiling beams. A 19th-century outshut was added behind the stair projection.

The exterior presents two storeys with an asymmetrical front of three windows. These are principally 20th-century 1 and 2-light small-paned casements, except for the ground floor right-hand window which is single-paned. A 19th-century plank door is positioned right of centre. A slightly projecting ground floor window sits to the left of the lateral stack. A wing projects to the rear of the left-hand end. The rear elevation features an outshut to the right of centre built in front of the rectangular stair projection, which has a chamfered wooden light in its left-hand end. On the first floor to the left is a 16th-century unglazed 2-light wooden mullion window with diamond-section mullion, into which a 20th-century pane has been inserted.

The interior contains two heavy oak square-headed pegged doorframes, which may be original, surviving in the partitions between the passage and lower room and between the hall and inner room. The hall features an open fireplace with chamfered wooden lintel, above which is a small royal coat of arms in plaster relief of uncertain date. High scratch-moulded axial beams span the hall. The roll-moulded headbeam to the partition at the rear of the hall is lower than the main beams. Above the partition between the passage and hall runs a moulded beam with pyramid stops. Projecting into the hall over this partition are fairly rough jetty joists with curved ends. A first-floor fireplace in the rear wing has a chamfered wooden lintel.

The roof over the main range is smoke-blackened, with cruck-form trusses whose feet are not fully visible, morticed collars, threaded purlins, and a diagonal ridge. Evidence of a partition in the roof over the jetty into the hall is visible, and the roof over the lower end is considerably less smoke-blackened. The roof-space over the rear wing was not accessible for inspection but also features cruck-form trusses with threaded purlins and probably morticed collars.

This is an interesting building whose complex development and wealth of internal features are belied by its fairly plain exterior.