Manor Farmhouse, Gatepiers, Walls And Railings Returned Around Forecourt

Farmhouse, gatepiers, walls, and railings around the forecourt. The farmhouse dates to the mid-17th century and was enlarged around 1720, with internal alterations occurring in the mid-19th century. It is constructed of random rubble, faced with English bond brickwork in the original block, and irregular Flemish bond in the southwest addition. The roof is slate, hipped at the west end, and features 19th-century rebuilt stacks clustered on the original range. The plan is of a three-cell and cross passage layout facing west. A southern end was rebuilt upon the addition of the west wing, and a stair inserted at the junction. The entrance was later resited in an angle, with an outshot in the northeast corner.

The entrance front is two storeys high, with a 1:2 bay layout on the left and five bays on the right. The north range’s first floor has a 3-light 19th-century casement, while the ground floor features depressed arched brick voussoirs with keystones engaging a dentil molded brick string course, interrupted by an inserted 19th-century doorway. A shell-hood porch with an 8-panel double door is located at the end on the right; some rebuilding is evident in the left bay. The west range to the right has a molded cornice. The first floor’s outer bays and centre are blocked, with two 12-pane sash windows surviving. The ground floor on the left has a 19th-century 3-light casement, and a 2-plank door is located at the end bay on the right. The south front has a hipped roof, molded cornice, and a 5:1 bay layout, with some window openings blocked. A 3-light stair window is set between the end two bays on the right.

Inside, a fine early 18th-century dog-leg stair features inlaid panelled dados and treads, barley sugar twist balusters, turned newels, and cut strings, each decorated with individual carving. The high quality of the stair and the awkward junction of the newels suggests that it may have been reset. The brickwork is an early example in Somerset, demonstrating similarities to outbuildings at Haydon House and Cutliffe Farmhouse in Stoke St Mary.

A length of wall, approximately 10 meters long, is made of irregular bond and abuts the southwest corner. A random rubble and brick wall abuts the northwest corner, returned around the forecourt as a dwarf wall with spearhead railings on the north side. A pair of early 18th-century gatepiers, constructed of brick with ashlar dressings and topped by guilloche decorated urns, are also present; the gatepiers were likely resited.