East Bodley Farmhouse

Farmhouse dated 1638 by datestone, remodelled and extended in 1754 and 1755 by date plaques. Built of unrendered stone rubble with a slate roof with gable ends.

The 1638 range originally consisted of a two-room plan with a through-passage. The hall, positioned to the left, was heated by an impressively tall rear lateral stack with offsets and slate drip. A projecting lean-to stair turret is positioned to the left of this stack. The lower end, to the right of the passage, was possibly originally unheated. In 1755 a projecting parlour wing was added at the upper end with an additional passage between it and the hall, and a shallow two-storey porch was built in the angle, its roof heightened in the 20th century. The rear gable end wall of the parlour was built forward of the rear wall of the hall; probably in the 19th century the resulting rear angle was infilled with a lofted storage room with external rear access only.

Chimneys include an ashlar stack with cavetto moulded cap to the front gable end of the parlour wing and a brick stack at the right gable end.

The building is two storeys with a 3-window range to the main range. Most fenestration dates from the late 20th century except for two 2-light casements with 6 panes per light at the right end of the upper storey.

The projecting gable-ended stone rubble porch with slate roof has a semi-circular headed doorway with dressed stone voussoirs. A datestone inscribed "RB 1B" sits above. The inner door retains a 17th-century chamfered surround with enriched weathered stop to the right-hand jamb and an original plank door with cover strips; the left-hand jamb has been replaced. A plank door serves the shallow two-storey porch in the angle. A pronounced straight-joint marks the left end of the hall. A slate plaque on the gable end wall of the parlour wing reads "This house was built in 1754 by John Blackmore/Elizabeth".

Interior features survive despite 20th-century exterior alterations. The hall contains two chamfered cross ceiling beams; the beam towards the lower end has hollow step stops and is carved with the date 1739 and initials IB on the soffit, while the upper beam has run-out stops. A chamfered bressumer is set into the upper end where the former gable end wall of the hall stands, and part of a chamfered beam with hollow-step stop is exposed on the lower side of the through-passage, set within solid stone partitioning. A thin partition with vertical dado match boarding separates the through-passage from the hall. A narrow chamfer frames the door surround between the hall and parlour wing. The hall fireplace has dressed stone jambs with the original timber lintel now concealed by a 20th-century replacement.

The parlour has a decorative plaster ceiling with a large central roundel and four angle sprays radiating from the centre, with a cyma reversa moulded plaster cornice. The fireplace has been rebuilt in the 20th century. The small chamber above retains a central decorative plaster roundel without a central spray and two surviving sides of plaster cornice. The large chamber above the parlour bears a plaster plaque inscribed "John Blackmore/Elizabeth/1755".

All principal chambers in the main range and parlour wing have 18th-century raised and fielded 2-panelled doors with narrow chamfered door surrounds with scroll-stopped returns. The 17th-century roof trusses to the main range are intact, featuring halved and lapped collars and two tiers of trenched purlins.