Papermill Farmhouse

Papermill Farmhouse is a farmhouse that dates back to the 13th century, with later additions from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. It is constructed of coursed, squared stone and features stone slate roofing. The building consists of a hall and a cross-wing, with an additional wing at the rear of the cross-wing on the left side. It stands two and two and a half storeys tall, with a single-storey infill on the left of the cross-wing.

The entrance front has a buttress at the right end of the hall wing, a three-light casement window, and a gabled, single-storey porch at the angle with the cross-wing that includes fully-glazed double doors set beneath a stone lintel. Above this, there is a blocked window and another three-light casement window with iron-opening lights. The right end features a parapet gable and an ashlar chimney with a cyma-moulded cap on the ridge. The cross-wing has a porch that partly covers a blocked doorway, and on the right return, there is a three-light casement window in the gable wall. There are also two-light casement windows at half-level on the right and similar ones above on the left, all with cambered stone arches. A lean-to is attached to the left return, and there is a lean-to dormer on the right return. The chimney is located from the eaves on the left return and also on the ridge behind.

Inside, the rear room of the cross-wing features a chamfered main beam in the ceiling and exposed joists with slight chamfers. There is a spiral timber stair in the front right corner, tie-beam and collar trusses, and two pairs of purlins. The hall wing has a wide fireplace with a timber lintel at the right end and a rear left arched doorway leading to a former spiral staircase. The roof of the hall range has two trusses set half a bay in from each end, with a tie-beam, king post, and principals that are curved at the top, along with struts to the posts. One pair of purlins is supported on blocks tenoned to the principal rafters, with a parallel principal above, stopping just above the purlin. There are straight braces from the strut to the purlin on each side. Most rafters have been renewed, but some ashlar pieces remain on the entrance side, and all original timber is heavily smoke blackened. The hall wing has been floored over at some point, and the cross-wing was rebuilt in the late 17th or early 18th century, with window alterations made in the 19th century. The truss is a very unusual survival from the 13th century, with only two similar examples known, both located in Chichester.