Lower Horselake

Lower Horselake is a house, likely formerly a farmhouse, dating to the late 16th to early 17th century, with a substantial refurbishment in 1985. It is constructed of partly whitewashed granite stone rubble with large dressed quoins; granite stocks support the structure; and has a thatched roof. The house is built down a slope, with the uphill (north-west) end containing a 20th-century end stack. Originally a 3-room-and-through-passage plan house facing south-west onto the road, the passage and service end room had collapsed and were rebuilt in 1985 on the original foundations. A newel stair turret projects to the rear of the hall at the upper end, and a 20th-century conservatory has been added to the rear of the inner room.

The house appears to have been built in the late 16th to early 17th century, perhaps with the hall initially intended to have a first floor. The number of doorways on the front suggests that the house was once divided into cottages. It is now two storeys throughout. The exterior features an irregular six-window front with 20th-century oak-framed casements, containing rectangular panes of leaded glass, some of the first-floor windows having thatch eyebrows. There are three doorways, all with 20th-century doors, the right-hand one leading to the through passage. The roof is half-hipped at both ends, and the rear has similar fenestration.

The interior's early features date from the late 16th to early 17th century. The hall contains a large granite fireplace with a high oak lintel, soffit-chamfered with cut diagonal stops, and a 19th-century brick side oven. The crossbeam is also soffit-chamfered with straight cut stops. An oak plank-and-muntin screen with chamfered muntins and step stops, which incorporate a crank-headed doorway, is located at the upper end of the hall. Two small crank-headed doorways, leading to the hall and inner room chambers, are at the top of the stairs. The screen originally extended up to the roof with large framing. The roof is not accessible, although the hall truss appears to be an A-frame. Most of the rest of the house was rebuilt in 1985, with much of the joinery and carpentry designed in a 16th-century style. An archaeological investigation before the lower end’s rebuilding revealed the line of the passage but found no evidence of heating or domestic occupation.