Middlemore Farmhouse

Farmhouse. Dating from the early 18th century, with additions around 1800 and subsequent alterations. Constructed of red brick, largely in a Flemish bond with burnt headers. The roof is slate, featuring stone-coped gables, a brick ridge, and brick end stacks. The plan is three units, with two storeys, cellars, and attics.

The exterior has a five-window range at the first floor, two of which are blocked. The first-floor windows are uPVC, set under brick lintels. Blocked windows in the centre left and right have gauged brick flat arches with stone keyblocks. On the ground floor, there’s a French window to the left, followed by a gabled 19th-century porch and a part-glazed door, a three-light window with a stuccoed lintel, a door within a glazed porch, and a two-light window under a gauged brick flat arch with a stone keyblock. A floor band and brick eaves are also present. A farmbuilding range adjoins the right end, while a single-storey addition of around 1800 is on the left end, with a two-light window in the attic. The rear features a two-storey addition of around 1800 under a catslide roof that meets the original range. This rear addition has a three-window range with a door to the centre left. A six-panel door and window are found in the single-storey addition.

The interior of the sitting room (best parlour) retains early 18th-century plaster raised and fielded panelling, accompanied by an overmantel with shouldered corners and floral decoration. Features include a wooden chair rail and dado, a fitted corner cupboard, and a four-panel door with HL hinges. A 19th-century fireplace is also present. Generally, the house contains boxed bridging beams, two- and four-panel doors with HL hinges, and some plaster cornices. A stick baluster staircase exists, along with a modified open fireplace in the kitchen. A west gable extension features an open fireplace and bake oven. An early 18th-century fireplace with eared surround is on the first floor. The attics consist of boarded partitions with two-panel and plank doors, and the roof has clasped purlins and coupled rafters. Cellars are located under the rear range and under the sitting room, the latter of stone with a brick vault.

A good-quality farmhouse notable for the survival of the best parlour fittings, it forms, along with its farmbuilding range, a complete steading and together they represent an early enclosure of a midland clay parish.