The Top House

The Top House is a house located on Grafton Road in Cranford. It likely dates from the 17th century, although it may have earlier origins, with alterations and additions made in the 19th and 20th centuries. The building is constructed from coursed limestone rubble with ironstone dressings and features a slate roof with coped gables, as well as stone ridge and end stacks.

The house is two storeys high with attics and consists of a main block that has two sections, along with a 19th-century addition on the right. The left part of the house has a buttressed corner and a central 19th-century porch that includes a panelled door and a single-light window with a cusped head above. To the right at ground floor level, there is a 3-light chamfered window, and a rectangular chamfered window is located above it on the first floor. The windows are small-paned gudgeon hung casements, with three 2-light small-paned windows from the late 19th century and early 20th-century gabled dormers.

On the right side of the house, there is a single-light and a 3-light chamfered mullioned window at ground floor level, with two single-light windows above and a similar dormer. The 19th-century addition on the right features a large sash window at ground floor level and a small single-light window above. The rear of the house has additional 19th and 20th-century alterations.

Inside, the building has been altered but still retains chamfered beams in the original section. In the ground floor room to the right of the porch, there is an inglenook fireplace with a richly-moulded and castellated bressumer, which is likely reset, supported by later-looking castellated side supports.