Wenning Hipping

Wenning Hipping is a house of 16th-century origins that was improved in the 17th century and raised to two storeys in the 18th century. It comprises a linear range of two storeys with a two-cell house abutted to the south by a truncated barn. The building is constructed of stone walls with a flag roof and cast-iron rainwater goods.

The front elevation faces east and presents three bays with gable stacks, a boulder plinth, and alternating quoins in squared rubble walling. At the first floor, the left gable wall steps inward, and the quoins above are smaller at both angles. The left bay contains a blocked doorway and an inserted two-light mullioned window, with an 18th-century window above having a chamfered stone surround. The central bay has windows offset to the left with 18th-century surrounds and replacement mullions (three-light below and two-light above). The right bay features an inserted doorway with 19th-century quoined jambs and a 17th-century shaped lintel, fitted with a vertical plank door. To the right are stacked replacement sash windows with deep lintels. The left chimney stack is corbelled and rendered. The barn is slightly set back with similar walling but no visible plinth, and displays a course of shim stones corresponding to the original eaves height of the house. The left angle of the house, which includes a moulded stone, forms the right jamb of the doorway. Both this doorway and the adjacent window have concrete lintels.

The north end is gabled, with the ground floor largely obscured by a woodstore. At the left is a former doorway now partially blocked as a window, its shaped lintel bearing grooves similar to tool-sharpening marks. Two first-floor windows are inserted with slender sills and lintels, fitted with replacement sash windows. At the right, the plinth features a massive boulder.

The west wall is partially obscured on the right by a modern extension with stone walls and artificial stone roof flags. The left bay contains a small blocked window and a larger window with horizontally-tooled quoined jambs and a replacement sash window; above is a small window with splayed sill and lintel with replacement leaded glass, now blocked inside. To the right is a stair window with a replacement sill and sash window. Above the kitchen extension is a blocked former bedroom window. The barn to the right is blind.

The south wall of the barn has a blocked small gable opening (probably an owl hole) and a ground-floor window with a large squared and dressed lintel and modern stone sill. The house gable visible above is rendered.

Internally, the plan form of a housebody with parlour to the north remains legible, although the west wall of the housebody now has a large opening to the kitchen. This room retains historic beams and most joists with stepped run-out chamfers. The chimney breast retains a pair of truncated 17th-century beehive ovens and the moulded jambs of a 17th-century fireplace; the mantel and its supports are reconstructions based on historic finds from the excavation of the floor. The plank door to the parlour survives. The parlour also retains beams and a historic slate hearthstone. The stone stair survives slightly altered.

Most of the principal roof timbers are historic, with principal rafters probably reused from former crucks. They feature notched lap joints and retain carpenters' marks. The structure is exposed in the main bedroom with a high collar and a tie beam bearing stave holes. Behind modern stud walling are historic features including a reduction in the thickness of the east wall where the eaves have been raised, and on the south wall, smoke-blackening and put-logs for purlins supporting the former smoke-hood.

The barn outshut retains a full king-block truss with queen struts, one of which was awaiting refixing as of 2023.