Ruddycleave Farmhouse

Ruddycleave Farmhouse is a longhouse dating to the 16th century, substantially altered around 1760 and again in the early 19th century. Built of granite rubble, the roof is hipped and thatched, with a slate-covered porch and a lean-to addition to the front. Granite chimneys are situated on the ridge at either side of the porch. The building’s plan incorporates a through-passage with two rooms to the left and a kitchen and former shippon to the right. Historical records indicate the kitchen was created from part of the shippon, but significant floor-level differences at that end suggest a later conversion. Both the hall and kitchen fireplaces open directly onto the through-passage. The farmhouse is two storeys high, with a single-storey lean-to at the front. The house-part has three windows, featuring 19th-century casements with glazing-bars. A panel of slate-hanging is located between the upper and ground-floor windows in the middle bay. The porch has a gabled form and a 20th-century brick segmental arch over the doorway. A dormer window is set into the roof of the shippon. The ground floor interior revealed few original features, with others likely concealed behind plaster. Documentary records suggest the upper-floor beam in the hall was inserted around 1760. Historical records indicate that Ruddycleave, or Reddicliff, farm was given to the church in 1566 and remained in their ownership until at least the 19th century.