Newtown Farmhouse

Newtown Farmhouse is a farmhouse of probable 16th-century origin, located in West Town at Baltonsborough. It has undergone alterations spanning the 17th, 18th and later centuries.

The building is constructed of coursed and squared lias rubble with a pantile roof, Doulting stone coped verges and window dressings, and brick end stacks. It is a single-depth, two-storey linear range running east-west, with a series of single-storey lean-to extensions to the rear and sides. The original house comprised the west and central bays; the east bay and outshuts date from the 18th and 19th centuries.

The front elevation has three bays. The western and central bays contain 2-light ogee moulded stone mullioned windows with leaded lights and turnbuckle style catches. The eastern bay has 3-light wooden casements. A central doorway has been inserted into a former window opening; both this door and the window to its west have stone dripmoulds. The battened door is a modern replacement. The gable ends each have a single window to the first floor; the western gable window is bricked in and matches the stone mullion windows on the façade, with a dripmould. A datestone in the east gable reads 1794 with two initials above that are unclear. Single-storey extensions flank both gable ends and the east side of the rear. The rear outshut has a slate roof and a small brick stack. Above this outshut are two stone mullion windows at first-floor level, matching those of the front elevation.

Inside, the ground floor comprises two principal rooms off a central hallway, with two further rooms in the lean-to extension to the rear. The west end front room has a fireplace at the gable end with a chamfered bressummer featuring butterfly stops, and to its left is a plank door cupboard. The former external window on the north wall is now used as a cupboard with panelled doors. A plank and muntin partition with a deeply chamfered beam separates this room from the hallway; at the northern end of the screen is a doorway under a Tudor arch. The hallway contains an enclosed stair to its rear with a plank door with wrought iron hinges; the opposite under-stair cupboard has a similar door. A deeply chamfered beam with run-out stops is visible. To the right is a cider hatch, accessed from the north with a serving hatch facing the hallway and a boarded barrel opening below. The remains of a beam embedded in the southern end of the wall may indicate the position of an original fireplace. The east end room has a large inglenook fireplace at the gable end with a modern chamfered bressummer; the cupboard to its left may conceal a bread oven. The rear space retains two stone mullion windows in its former external wall to the west end; that to the east is open and looks onto the hallway. Part of a moulded stone surround is evident above the doorway to the hall, though its original purpose is unclear. An elm screen, moved from the east end, stands in the west end front room. A brick corner fireplace marks the division between the two rear rooms, and the east end room has restored oak beams. The west end front room, hallway and east end rear room have flagstone floors. The first floor west end room has a chamfered beam with run-out stops. At the east end, a narrow stair to the right of the stack gives access to the attic.

The roof structure indicates 16th-century origins. The west end truss, which sits over a first-floor partition aligned with the plank and muntin partition below, features large principals tenoned and pegged at the apex with a cambered collar. The ridge piece is missing but was notched into the apex. The principals have a pair of purlin trenches and one windbrace slot each. Stave holes in the principals and collar indicate the truss was originally closed with wattle and daub.

The house appears to date from the mid-to-late 16th century based on its roof structure, partitions and wall thickness. It was upgraded in the 17th century with the addition of stone mullioned windows. The original entrance location and whether a second fireplace existed to the east of the hallway are unclear. The house was extended to the east in the late 18th century, when the front doorway was inserted into one of the window openings. The two flights of stairs also appear to date from the 18th century.