Court Farmhouse

Court Farmhouse is a detached property with elements dating back to the 15th century, with substantial alterations in the late 16th century, around 1800, and the mid-to-late 19th century. It is constructed of dressed, squared, and coursed rubble limestone, with artificial stone rebuilt shafts to ashlar chimneys, and a stone slate roof.

The farmhouse consists of a two-storey main range, two two-storey west wings, an east stair wing, and a dairy at the south end. The west side features two parapet-gabled wings, the right wing having a finial. It has single-window, 3-light recessed chamfered mullioned windows on the upper floor, except for a ground floor 2+2-light window to the left wing, all with hoodmoulds. Two-light sash windows with plain architraves are situated between the wings, featuring 12-pane glazing bars on the ground floor and 4-pane glazing bars above, also with thick glazing bars. A centrally located gabled dormer to the attic has a 20th-century casement. A high stone plinth is present on the central part of the elevation. The right side incorporates a 15th-century section with an upper-floor trefoil-headed lancet, which has been partially blocked, alongside an enclosed lean-to porch. This porch extends the roof of a mid-to-late 19th-century dairy located at the south end, and includes a small parapet gable with a shuttered opening. To the left of the central range is an early 19th-century addition, featuring a doorway with a 6-panel door and a rectangular light above. Two eaves-mounted roof dormers with 20th-century casements are also present on this section. Ridge-mounted chimneys indicate the ends of this addition. The south end has a gable-mounted chimney with two diagonal shafts and an off-centre 2-light upper-floor mullioned casement with a hoodmould. The parapet-gabled end of the dairy, off-centre to the main gable, features a 2+2-light ground floor casement. An attached lean-to and outbuildings connect to a small 17th-century stone-built structure. The east side has a parapet-gabled stair wing with a finial and a 2-light upper-floor casement, as well as a ground-floor single-light window, both with hoods. The roof of the main range extends to the left, forming a large 19th-century porch supported by stone columns with cushion capitals and moulded bases. Further fenestration includes a mix of sash and mullioned windows. The north end is parapet-gabled with single-window fenestration, featuring deep stone lintels and a 12-pane sash window to the ground floor with a small-paned 20th-century casement above.

Inside, an upper-floor room at the south end of the building has a 15th-century cambered ceiling with a central stone moulded rib and stone corbel blocks, with carved timber panelling within the spandrels. A pointed-arched doorway on the west side of this room is obscured by a late 16th-century addition and features a hoodmould; it likely served as an external entrance. The ceiling in the room below has a compartmental design with heavily moulded beams, likely a late 16th-century alteration. The history of the house is linked to the borough and manor of King’s Stanley and it forms a group with the nearby court house and barn.