Church Rooms

Parish hall, former school, and originally a church house, dating to the early or mid 16th century, with refurbishment around 1980. The building is constructed of massive granite ashlar with a chamfered plinth, has a granite ashlar stack and chimney shaft, and a slate roof (formerly thatched). The plan shows a south-facing building terraced into a hillslope, comprising two ground floor rooms – a small, unheated room to the right (east) end and a larger, heated room to the left with a projecting end stack. A stone newel stair leads to the rear of the fireplace. There is also a single, unheated first-floor room, accessible directly from both ends due to the slope.

The building appears to have been a single phase construction, always two storeys high. Externally, the front has an irregular three-window design dating from around 1980, featuring timber-mullioned casements with rectangular panes of leaded glass. There are doorways in each ground floor room, with part-glazed, studded plank doors, and all openings have slate hoods. A similar door and fenestration are present at first floor level to the right end and at the rear. The circa 1980 joinery was designed to harmonise with the building’s ancient character. The roof is gable-ended.

The interior is well preserved. The ground floor rooms are separated by an oak plank-and-muntin screen, which includes a shoulder-headed doorframe where the top planks have been removed to create internal windows. The main room has a three-bay ceiling supported by two massive soffit-chamfered and step-stopped crossbeams, with exposed plain joists. The fireplace is built of granite ashlar with a plain chamfered surround. An oak round-headed doorframe is situated at the head of the stairs. The first-floor room is open to the roof, which features side-pegged jointed cruck trusses with cambered collars. Inspection of the roofspace was not possible. This is a notably well-preserved former church house positioned within the churchyard.