Damsels Farmhouse

Damsel's Farmhouse is an early 17th-century and late 18th-century farmhouse located in Painswick. It is indicated on Ordnance Survey maps as Damsell's Farm. The farmhouse is constructed of limestone, with ashlar facing, and has a stone slate roof to the front slope and concrete tiles elsewhere. The original plan was likely an L-shape, with a wing or cross-wing returning on the left side, which was restructured in the 18th century. A narrow parallel range was inserted within the L-shape, and an apple store was added to the back of the left wing, built into the ground slope.

The main front of the farmhouse is two storeys and has an attic and a partial basement. The ground floor originally had three paired 12-pane sash windows, while the first floor mirrored this with an additional single 12-pane window in bay 3. These windows are set within a plat-band surround. There are two segmental-headed basement openings, and three 3-light, gabled dormers. A broad square landing with nosings to the steps leads up to a 6-panel door, which is positioned under a radial fanlight with a keystone to the plat-band surround.

The right return has an external gable stack, a blocked opening low to the left, and a door alongside a 2-light, hollow-chamfered mullioned casement, both with stopped hoods. The back wall features several 2- or 3-light mullioned casements, some hollow-chamfered and some plain, all with stopped hoods. The end of the apple room has a blocked gable opening and a blocked door at first floor level. The left return has a 3-light window over a 4-light casement, featuring a king mullion of hollow chamfer, and a broad plank door. Three ashlar stacks are present, with some restructuring using reconstituted stone and moulded cappings.

The interior includes an early roof with A-frames, featuring propped and bracketed feet and tenoned purlins. There are numerous 18th-century fielded panel doors and cupboards, a late 18th-century staircase with turned, painted balusters, and a large, chamfered, and stopped spine beam in the kitchen. A cross beam formerly supported a panel and muntin screen. The fireplaces include a late 18th-century or early 19th-century example on the ground floor, right, with a very flat arch, small spandrels, a moulded, stopped surround, and a single cracked stone. A smaller stove example is located on the first floor, with a basket-handle arch, fluted keystone, and moulded mantel. The kitchen has a 19th-century stone surround with a shouldered lintel and wide 'keystone.' One cellar room has a flagstone floor and a heavy, rough-chamfered beam, while another has a fine elliptical ceiling with a cross-vault to the entry in bay 2, and a brick floor.