West Bentwitchen Farmhouse

West Bentwitchen Farmhouse

A farmhouse built around 1500, altered probably in the early to mid 17th century, with probable early to mid 20th century alterations and minor additions. The building is constructed of rendered stone rubble and cob, with a gable-ended asbestos-slate roof (probably formerly thatched). A lean-to Welsh-slate roof covers a porch and dairy, and a monopitch corrugated-iron roof covers a scullery. Stone square stacks with weatherings feature later render and red brick tops.

The original late-Medieval open hall house followed a 3-room and cross passage plan, facing south-west on sloping ground. It consisted of a hall with a projecting full-height-gabled square bay to the front, a cross passage, a service room (now the kitchen) to the left, and an inner room to the right. The building was originally open to the roof, probably continuously from end to end with rooms divided by low partitions.

17th century alterations included the insertion of a first floor, an axial stack to the left-hand end of the hall backing onto the cross passage, an integral end stack to the service room, and an external end stack to the former inner room. A winder staircase with a small pantry behind was inserted at the rear of the former cross passage, probably also in the 17th century (the present staircase appears to be largely 19th century). The 17th century flooring was probably carried out in stages, with the hall remaining open to the roof after the hall stack was inserted and the end rooms floored—the high lintel to the hall fireplace indicates this. The hall was probably floored last, later in the 17th century. The projecting full-height square bay was likely added as part of the 17th century remodelling, perhaps to compensate for lost space in the hall after the stack insertion. The eaves were raised at some point, possibly as part of this remodelling.

A lean-to dairy at the rear of the upper (right-hand) end of the house was probably added in the late 18th or early to mid 19th century. The lean-to porch to the cross-passage entrance and small scullery set back to the left are probably late 19th or early 20th century additions. The wall between the hall and inner room was partly removed, probably in the 20th century.

The building is two storeys with one-storey additions. The front is asymmetrically fenestrated, with four windows to the first floor and three to the ground floor; these are 20th century 2-light wooden casements, with the larger ground-floor window in the bay being 20th century but probably in the original opening. The cross-passage doorway is in the left-hand angle of the projecting bay, with a 19th century boarded door and lean-to slate-roofed porch. A projecting weathering to the left of the right-hand ground-floor window possibly indicates a blocked door or window. The one-storey scullery to the left has a 20th century half-glazed door to the right.

Internally, the hall contains part of a 17th century chamfered spine beam, with the front beam featuring a stepped runout stop. A 17th century open fireplace to the left has dressed stone jambs, a high cambered chamfered wooden lintel with the chamfer returning to the jambs, and a segmental brick arched bread oven with a cast-iron door. The inner room to the right has a 17th century chamfered spine beam and a 17th century open stone fireplace to the right (reduced in width at some time) with a chamfered wooden lintel featuring stepped runout stops. An old boarded door with strap hinges at the rear of the inner room leads to the dairy at the rear, which has barred windows with internal shutters. The left-hand ground-floor room (kitchen) contains a 20th century cased steel beam and an old open fireplace to the right with an unchamfered wooden lintel and segmental stone relieving arch. The winder staircase at the rear of the former cross passage is mainly 19th century but possibly incorporates some 17th century work.

Substantial remains of the late Medieval smoke-blackened roof survive. A Medieval truss, possibly jointed crucks, exists at the lower (left-hand) end of the hall in front of the stack, featuring a mortise and tenoned cranked collar and morticed and tenoned apex. Pairs of threaded purlins survive over the hall at least, and a diagonally-set ridge piece survives over the hall and inner-room end (sawn through between these two spaces, possibly when a truss was removed at this point). Smoke-blackened rafters with some laths survive over the hall and inner-room end. A 20th century roof structure has been constructed above the old roof.