Plainsfield Court Farm

The farmhouse at Plainsfield Court Farm dates back to the 15th century and has undergone significant remodelling and extensions in the late 16th, 17th, and late 19th centuries. It is constructed of coursed and uncoursed rubble with roofs of Welsh slate and artificial slate, and some pantiles to the north outshut. Brick and stone stacks are present.

The original design was a medieval open hall house aligned east to west, which was remodelled in the late 16th century with the insertion of an axial stack and a through passage. A west cross wing, projecting north of the parlour end, was added, along with a later extension forming a T-shaped plan. A north wing was extended in the early 19th century, and the east service wing was rebuilt and extended in the late 19th century, at which point the house was subdivided.

The front of the house has a 3-window range with late 19th-century segmental brick arches over 3-light casement windows and a 6-panelled door with brick quoins. An 18th-century brick quoins are on the left and late 19th-century on the right. A late 17th-century porch on the left includes a probably reset 15th-century arched doorway, with a reset 15th-century cornice and a late 19th-century 4-panelled door inside. The north wing has similar 3-light casements with brick quoins, and a straight joint marks the boundary of an earlier wing. A 19th-century outshut is at the rear of this wing, with further 2-light casements. The gable of the north wing features a reset 15th-century cusp-headed window. Similar fenestration is found on the rear of the main range, with 19th-century brick architraves and timber lintels. A late 19th-century wing to the left has a 2-window east front with similar fenestration in segmental-arched brick surrounds.

The interior of the house, while not formally inspected, features a smoke-blackened former open hall roof with stop-chamfered detail to arch-braced trusses, windbraces, and tenoned purlins. The cross wing projecting north has three jointed cruck trusses. A late 16th-century ceiling was installed in the hall, dividing it into 16 compartments with deeply-chamfered beams. An 18th-century staircase has turned balusters. One cross wing has a plaster panel dated 1665 and bearing the arms of the Blake family, marking the inheritance of the house by John and Elizabeth Blake following the death of Humphrey Blake. Elaborately moulded plaster adorns the beamed ceiling of this wing, with coved areas over the 4 compartments. This wing was later used as a service area, with a wash boiler installed in the 19th century, and comprises a former dairy with slate shelving. The house retains 18th and 19th-century joinery, doors, and fireplaces. It is described as an interesting large house that would benefit from detailed examination, with the west cross wing possibly original and unusually divided during the early stages to provide an ante-room to the hall.