Fairfield

Fairfield is a house dating to around 1800, with later 19th-century alterations, and incorporating part of an earlier dwelling. The construction is of roughcast rubble stone, with some ashlar dressings, and a slated roof featuring overhanging eaves and verges. The house has wide gable chimney stacks topped with clay pots, and is arranged in an L-shape, with the rear wing being lower than the front range. Remnants of the earlier building are also present.

The front elevation is symmetrical and features three bays, with two storeys and attics. A central doorway is flanked by Tuscan columns supporting a flat lintel with a cornice above. The doorway has double 3-panel doors, the upper two panels glazed. Six-over-six pane sash windows with fine glazing bars and sashes without horns are positioned on either side of the doorway. Matching windows are also present on the first floor. The rear elevation features a tall first-floor stair window with a semi-circular head and intersecting glazing bars. A narrow two-storey wing projects to the east end, and a single-storey outbuilding is attached to the west end of the main structure.

Inside, the entrance vestibule has patterned tiles to the floor, with an inner doorway featuring a 6-panel door, the lower two panels raised and fielded, and the upper panels glazed. The inner hall has moulded plasterwork to the cornice and ceiling; a shallow arched opening leads to the central staircase, which is a dog-leg design with turned balusters and a broad moulded handrail. Interior doorways have panelled doors and moulded architraves, and the principal ground floor rooms have panelled window reveals and marble surrounds to the hearths. One first-floor room contains large rectangular panelling. The lower rear range contains an 18th-century 2-panel door and built-in cupboards with panelled doors in the dining room. Below is a small vaulted cellar with a two-light mullioned window.

A building is shown on a map of 1795 on the site of the present house; this may be part of the earlier structure which is now incorporated. The building exemplifies an early 19th-century house where the local vernacular style has been largely replaced by fashionable detailing during a comprehensive remodelling.