Toney'S Farmhouse

Toney’s Farmhouse is a farmhouse dating from the late 14th or early 15th century, with alterations in the 17th, 19th, and 20th centuries. It is constructed of random rubble stone, brick-nogged timber framing, and English garden wall brickwork, with a tiled roof. The building has an "L" shape, comprising a two-bay, two-storey cross wing and a four-bay, two-storey main block, with the upper storey of the main block partly within the roof space. A later lean-to extension runs along the side, away from the yard.

The yard side features largely brickwork, with 3-light wooden casement windows. One window has a flat head without a lintel, while another has a cambered brick arch. French doors are present to the right, with a timber lintel, indicating the outline of a former porch over what was the cross passage of the original house. The ground floor wall is stone up to the corner, with further French doors under a cambered brick arch. A late 20th-century single-storey lean-to porch sits to the right, with a door on the left return and a 2-light casement window at the end. An additional window is present in the cross wing. On the first floor, there are three windows, along with dormers, and another window in the cross wing, set within a cambered brick arch. The timber-framed gable above this window features a tie beam, collar, 'V' struts above, and a 2-light casement window. The roof to the main wing has a gable on the right, above the eaves of the cross wing, with a half-hip design spanning one bay from the left, with a lower pitch beyond. A brick chimney stands on the ridge in line with the cross passage, and a large external stack is on the right return of the cross wing.

Inside, the cross-wing roof retains a cut tie-beam truss with two pairs of purlins, a square ridge, and wind braces cutting the rafters. The ceiling beams in the ground floor of the main block’s right half have large hollow chamfers with bar stops. On the first floor of the main block’s right side, a base cruck truss is visible (apparently cut off below floor level), featuring arch braces, a plain chamfer, and square-set moulded aisle plate. Above are ‘V’ struts to the principal rafters, cusped foiling, and curved wind braces to a further pair of purlins; the ridge is concealed by a high ceiling. A half-truss is present in the bay to the right, with a high collar and arch braces, and wind braces to the aisle plate. Mortices for inserted ceiling joists are on the aisle plate, and the cruck truss shows notches for a ceiling beam that has since been removed. A sphere truss is located away from the cross wing, with posts exposed in cupboards beyond, and braces to the aisle plate plastered over in the main upper room. The cross passage is blocked by an inserted large stone chimney base, and a truss beyond has a closed tie beam, two collars, and angle struts. Two boarded doors with strap hinges are found in the cross wing on the first floor. An open hall includes a 17th-century inserted floor and chimney, filling the cross passage. The building represents an important medieval survival.