Leigh Mill Farm

Leigh Mill Farm

This house, originally a mill house, was built in 1779–1780 and later underwent additions and alterations in the 19th century, with further changes in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

The building is constructed of rendered and painted random stone rubble, except for the south gable wall which is mostly brick. The roof is half-hipped to the south end, with thatch covering the western front slope and double Roman tiles on the eastern rear slope; the rear outshut roof is clad with corrugated sheeting. Gable-end chimneystacks are present. Most windows date from the 20th century, though two first-floor stair windows are earlier; all window frames are wooden.

The building is oriented north-west to south-east and follows a two-room, single-depth plan. A later 19th-century rear outshut and an early 21st-century timber outhouse have been added to the south gable end. The house is two storeys with five bays. The main western elevation features a wide entrance with a 19th-century plank stable door in the left-hand bay, sheltered by a 20th-century open-sided porch. To the right are two casement windows in internally-splayed openings; three windows of two and three lights occupy the first floor, with the three-light casement opening being a later enlargement or insertion. The north gable wall contains two first-floor windows within original openings, and the wall section left of the chimney projects forward to accommodate the stairs. The rear elevation contains an inserted ground-floor opening with a large late 20th-century window and a two-light casement at first-floor level on the right end. The rear outshut has an inserted entrance with a reused four-panelled door. A large section of the south gable wall has been rebuilt in brick, likely when the chimney was replaced, and the right-hand corner has been underpinned with brick. Ground- and first-floor window openings appear to have been enlarged or are later insertions.

Internally, a baffle entry with a wide plank and batten door opens into the kitchen, which contains a large fireplace with a timber bressumer, later shelf, and bread oven (door missing). The fireplace hood back is cob. A cupboard, possibly for spice, is set into the wall with a raised, fielded panel door; the hinges have been replaced. A transverse, chamfered ceiling beam with a stepped stop to its west end is present. The partition wall to the southern room contains two doorways (one blocked) with unmitred, moulded doorframes possibly dating from the 19th century. The southern room has been altered; its ceiling is supported by a modern, probably late 20th-century beam supported at one end by a timber upright, though the joists, each formed from two timber lengths, appear early. The fireplace and stack appear to have been rebuilt, aligning with an axial partition wall that has since been removed. A doorway in the back wall leads to the rear outshut, which has a concrete floor, a small drain hole set low in the south wall, and a recessed shelf in the west wall. First-floor access is via a dogleg stair beside the kitchen fireplace; upstairs room arrangement has been reconfigured. The large landing contains a blocked, rear window opening with splayed reveals set low in the wall; opposite the stairs is a late 18th-century plank door with strap hinges and a pegged doorframe. The roof comprises pegged principal rafters with yokes and collars and single, threaded purlins, consistent with a late 18th-century date.

The modern timber structure attached to the south gable wall and the detached open-fronted outbuilding to the north of the house are excluded from the listing, being deemed not of special architectural or historic interest.