Reed Farmhouse

Reed Farmhouse is a late medieval farmhouse, extensively altered and partially rebuilt in 1973-4. It is constructed of whitewashed rendered cob on stone rubble footings, with a granite entrance porch and a slate roof with gabled ends. The building has right-end and axial stacks.

The original plan, as indicated by a 1973 report by Dr. N. Alcock prior to renovations, comprised a hall to the left, with a long lower end that was subsequently divided into service rooms, a barn, and a separate cottage. A rear wing was added to the left, and a further outshut extends from the lower right end. The house likely began as an open hall, probably floored in the 17th century, which is also the suggested date for the rear left wing. A hall stack was likely inserted before the hall was floored. The lower end, including the cottage, has been repartitioned and modernized. The hall and passage remain at the left end, and smoke-blackened jointed crucks are said to survive, although not visible during a 1987 survey.

The exterior has an asymmetrical five-window front. A 20th-century porch provides access to a through passage to the left of centre, featuring a fine 2-centred chamfered inner doorframe. The windows are 1-, 2-, and 3-light 20th-century timber casements with glazing bars.

The interior was not thoroughly inspected during the 1987 survey. The roughly dressed granite back of the hall stack is exposed in the passage, alongside a plank and muntin screen with a doorframe. A chamfered doorframe leads into the former lower end, and a recess indicates a former stair leading to the loft over the lower end. The hall features a chamfered stopped crossbeam and an open fireplace with a timber lintel relieving arch and a 19th-century bread oven. The lower end is modernized. The rear wing, first floor, and roofspace were not inspected but may retain features of interest. A smoke-blackened jointed cruck is said to survive over the hall, and a clean truss over the lower end.

A survey record by Dr. N. Alcock, prior to renovations, including a ground plan, elevation, and photograph, is deposited in the NMR. This record illustrates shouldered head doors to the rear of the passage and into the lower end, as well as a plank and muntin screen, which may survive. The house is an important medieval building with an unusual plan form, a lack of inner rooms, and a lower end with both semi-domestic and semi-agricultural functions.