Penlee Farmhouse

Penlee Farmhouse is a house built between 1909 and 1911, designed by Halsey Ricardo for Dr. A. B. Rendel. The structure features dressed granite blocks of varying sizes for its walls and has a gable-ended slate roof. It has four chimney stacks made of dressed granite blocks, with two axial stacks, one at the left gable end, and one in a small gable lateral to the right-hand wing. The plan is L-shaped, with a smaller rear wing at the right-hand end. The main block contains kitchen and service rooms to the right, an entrance passage to the right of center, and two principal rooms to the left. The staircase opens out from the right side of the passage, while the rear wing includes a large reception room, which is reputedly the former music room.

The exterior is two storeys high with an attic and features an asymmetrical four-window front, including a two-storey porch to the right of center. To the left of the porch are two and three-light original casements with leaded lights on the first floor and decorative iron catches. To the right of the porch on the ground floor are two original 12-pane sashes, along with two later 20th-century casements. The two-storey porch has a four-centred granite arched doorway with a three-light granite mullioned window to its right, and two original three-light casements above. The first floor at the right gable end is corbelled, and the rear wing extends beyond it, featuring a gable at the center that contains a first-floor four-light granite mullion window next to the chimney stack. The rear facade has original sashes on the ground floor and late 20th-century windows on the first floor. Originally, the rear elevation of the wing had a verandah, which has since been replaced with a 20th-century conservatory.

Inside, the passage features three granite arches on the right side, with the central arch leading to a framed wooden staircase. The left-hand room has a bolection-moulded chimneypiece surrounded by de Morgan tiles. The principal room in the wing boasts a very large corbelled granite fireplace, with the inscription "Halsey Ricardo Archt. 1911" at the top of the left jamb. The original plans and drawings by the architect are preserved inside the house. This building showcases a modern interpretation of local vernacular building traditions and materials.