The Retreat

The Retreat is a house that was originally a farmhouse, dating from the early 17th century or possibly earlier, with extensions added in the 18th century and further modifications in the 19th and 20th centuries. It features plastered cob walls and a gable-ended thatch roof, with brick stacks at either end, a large rendered rear lateral stack, and a rendered axial stack that is likely made of rubble.

The original layout consists of a three-room-and-through-passage plan, with the lower end located to the right. The hall stack is positioned against the passage, while the inner room is heated by the gable-end stack. The lower end is notably long and appears to have been two rooms, but the absence of a solid wall between them suggests they may have been built at the same time. It is possible that the end room was originally an outbuilding. At the rear of the passage, there is a stair projection that looks to be from the 17th century but contains a staircase from the 19th century. Additionally, 19th-century outshuts have been added to both the left and right ends of the house, and a 20th-century lean-to has been built against the front of the left-hand end, possibly replacing an earlier structure.

The exterior of the house is two storeys high, with an asymmetrical front featuring five windows that are late 20th-century two-light casements, some of which have small panes and are set in small openings. There is a 20th-century glazed gabled porch leading to the passage on the right side of the centre, accompanied by a part-glazed door. Towards the right-hand end, there is a stable-type door from the 20th century. The left-hand end has a projecting lean-to with a small porch at the angle, which includes a plank door. The rear elevation features a small gabled stair projection to the left of centre and 19th-century outshuts on both sides. To the right of centre, there are two 18th-century square-section leaded light wooden mullion windows, one on each floor.

Inside, the left-hand room has a roughly chamfered wooden lintel above the fireplace and a rough axial beam. The hall fireplace has a plain wooden lintel and an oven, with the fireplace back, which faces the passage, constructed from small coursed dressed stones. The roof likely features substantial straight principal rafters with threaded or trenched purlins and collars that are halved on.