Redland Farmhouse

Redland Farmhouse is a house, originally a farmhouse, dating back to around 1500, with significant alterations made in the early 17th century and a late 20th-century addition. The walls are of plastered cob and the roof is thatched and hipped. There is a large, late 20th-century brick axial stack on a rubble base, and a similar stack at the left-hand end.

The original layout was a 3-room-and-through-passage plan, with the lower end to the left. Initially, it was likely open to the roof, probably from end to end, with a central hearth in the hall. A partition in the roof suggests the lower end was floored first, though the replacement of timbers and whitening of the partition make confirmation uncertain. The remaining rooms were likely floored in the early 17th century, and a fireplace inserted into the hall, backing onto the passage. A gable-end fireplace in the lower room was probably added in the later 17th century. The small inner room served as a storage area. A wing was added to the rear in the late 20th century.

The front elevation is asymmetrical and has four windows on two storeys. The windows are late 20th-century, with two lights and small panes. A 20th-century plank door is located to the left of centre. A small rubble oven projection sits in front of both stacks. The rear elevation features a projecting 20th-century wing positioned centrally.

Inside, the lower room has a chamfered hollow-step stopped ceiling beam. The fireplace has a narrow, chamfered wooden lintel. The hall fireplace features a similarly hollow-chamfered wooden lintel, which has been cut off at the right-hand end, and the rear of the stack, facing the passage, is built of dressed stone. Remains of a cream oven are present in the hall, opposite the fireplace, and mortices for a screen are visible on a beam extending to the rear wall.

The original smoke-blackened roof remains over the hall and inner room, supported by two trusses; the hall truss is a jointed cruck, although the front blade has been superseded by the inserted hall stack. The cruck joint is unusual, with the upright post tapering and being clasped between the forked end of the blade in an elongated bird’s mouth joint, secured by a single peg on the side of the post before it joins the blade. Further features include a morticed collar, diagonal ridge, and threaded purlins. The form of the inner room truss is not clearly visible. The blackened rafters and thatch are also present. An inserted partition, likely secondary, dividing the hall truss, has been whitened and corresponds to the head-beam for a screen below. The roof over the lower end was replaced, probably in the 20th century, with rough, insubstantial rafters.