Willestrew

Farmhouse, originally dating to the late 17th century, was extended in the early 19th century and altered in the mid-19th century. Further alterations occurred around 1920 and in the later 20th century. The construction is rubble with a stuccoed front, topped by hipped slate roofs and stacks on the sides. The original building’s layout is uncertain, but it now forms the rear range of a house extensively remodeled in the mid-18th century to a double-depth plan, featuring a stair hall on the right. This was extended to the left in the 18th century and to the right with a rear wing built around 1920, alongside later additions to the rear left, creating an overall U-shaped plan.

The front elevation has two storeys and three windows. A central flat-roofed portico features unfluted Doric columns, a string course with peg guttae, and a half-glazed door with an overlight in a reeded surround. A mid-19th century canted bay window extends through two storeys to the left, featuring 12-pane sashes to the front and 4-pane sashes to the sides. A 12-pane sash window is located on the ground and first floors to the right, with a larger one on the first floor. A similar sash window is positioned centrally on the first floor. A band course is interrupted by the canted bay. To the left of the bay, a similar sash window is at ground level, with slate hanging above. A one-bay wing is set back to the left, with lower eaves and a 20th-century conservatory featuring a glazed door and a first-floor sash window. The left return of this wing has rendered walls with lines denoting the original structure. A former round-headed door opening now has a two-pane casement window, with a 20th-century door to the left, and two 12-pane sashes at first floor. The right return has three windows, all 20th-century 12-pane sashes, except for a 16-pane sash on the ground floor right. A similar porch to the left has a cornice and an inner panelled and glazed door with an overlight; datestones are reset in the wall on either side, reading “IRE 1624” on the left and “M 1958” on the right, with the band course returning.

The rear wing to the left incorporates a slate-hung upper addition on wooden piers, angled to the main house, with a two-light casement on the inner side and a 20th-century light below. The rear of the main house features two 20th-century windows on the ground floor and two on the first floor. Two single-storey lean-to structures extend along the inner side to the right, with a half-glazed door and a multi-pane two-light casement at the end. The interior features a swept staircase with stick balusters and a wreathed handrail, with a lantern above dating to the early 19th century. Some original beams remain in the rear, though the interior is largely 19th and 20th century in character.