Gelli including attached cider house, farm range and barn

Gelli is a substantial farmhouse complex comprising a main house with an attached secondary dwelling forming a north-south wing, a cider house to the west, and a farm building range to the east, anchored by a barn aligned north-south that roughly balances the domestic wing. The site represents a layered architectural history spanning the early 17th century through the 20th century.

The main house is rendered over stone on its front elevation but exposes local sandstone rubble on the gable ends and rear. It has a slate roof with gable end stacks and is two storeys high, arranged on a two-unit plan with symmetrical facades and a central entrance. The front elevation was significantly remodelled in the 20th century: it was recorded by Bradney in 1906 as having 12-pane sash windows, but now features 4-pane horned sashes. The central doorway retains an overlight and brackets supporting a canopy, though these are partly concealed by a modern porch. The west gable elevation preserves a series of ovolo-moulded mullioned windows, with similar windows on the first floor rear (the ground floor window here is 20th century). A full-height hipped-roofed wing occupies the centre of the rear elevation, which appears to be an early 18th-century addition housing the staircase; it retains a mullioned and transomed window at first floor level. A modern lean-to has been added in its north-east angle against the main range.

The north-south wing adjoins the main range at its south-west corner. Built of local rubble stone and rendered to the front elevation, it has a slate roof with a small axial stack. Its elevational detail is entirely 20th century except for one three-light ovolo-moulded mullioned window towards the left. The façade is oddly divided, with the long left-hand unit having only this single window to the ground floor and two 4-pane sashes above. A doorway and flanking windows—one in an earlier opening—are positioned to the right of the stack. Stairs to a first floor loft entry are located at the gable end.

The former cider house adjoins this range to the north-west. It is of similar rubble construction with a slate roof and a brick gable end stack. Ground-floor openings have been altered, obscuring the original arrangement, but a single window survives to the first floor, also altered. A projecting circular bread-oven projects against the west gable, and there are single wood mullioned and transomed windows on each floor to the rear. A large hipped-roofed lean-to links the cider house and the west gable wall of the main dwelling.

The farm-building range extends east from the main dwelling, connecting it to the barn. It is of rubble construction with a corrugated sheet roof, featuring a near-centre arched doorway with a small window to the left and a loft door up steps to the right. The barn stands at right angles to this range and is timber-framed, with exposed framing visible in the south gable apex; the truss here is under-built in stone rubble. The framing is concealed by corrugated tin cladding on the west elevation and by a recent agricultural building to the east.

Architecturally, the main house combines details from its original early 17th-century phase of construction with early 18th-century remodelling. The ground floor layout results from this remodelling and comprises a wide central hall leading to a staircase in the rear wing, with principal rooms on either side. This entrance hall was probably created by dividing the original main living room or hall, which is now the left-hand room. This room features a good two-panelled 18th-century door and two broad chamfered lateral beams, with a further beam abutting the chimney breast and a stop-chamfered bressumer to the fireplace. The most striking feature is the timber-framed lobby to the left of the fireplace, which formerly gave access to doorways to the wing and the rear of the cider house. Whilst its framing suggests an early 17th-century date, its remarkable painted embellishment is probably contemporary with the early 18th-century remodelling: panels over the door contain two mask-like portrait heads—bald males with exaggerated expressions of woe—and swags in panels to the left of the door contribute to a rather theatrical character. The rest of the structure is also enriched with marbling. To the right of the fireplace are the remains of what appears to be a mural stair, possibly the original staircase before the 18th-century remodelling. Within the rear wing, a small room has an off-centre plaster roundel of 18th-century character, which may formerly have been the stairwell, though if so the lower rise of the staircase must have been re-aligned.

The right-hand room also has a fireplace with a chamfered bressumer and chamfered stone jambs, and retains a good early 18th-century ceiling with a deep moulded cornice. An unusual dado, probably early 19th century in date, is contemporary with a six-panelled doorway to this room. The staircase contained within the rear wing has panelled newels and turned balusters.

The first floor retains an early 17th-century arrangement remarkably intact, comprising three rooms with a short rear corridor giving them all separate access from the staircase. This corridor may have been contrived when the staircase was added, since the rooms were originally interconnecting; the partition between the central room and the corridor is not jointed into the other partitions. All internal partitions are post-and-panel work, and the interconnecting doorways have shaped heads. The fireplace in the east room has chamfered stone jambs and a stop-chamfered timber bressumer, similar to that in the room below. Additionally, two wall-cupboards of early date, though probably early 18th century, have decorated panelled doors with butterfly hinges.

The north-south wing has been largely remodelled internally with little evidence of its earlier arrangement. It comprises two large rooms divided by a chimney breast and staircase, though the staircase appears modern and the chimney lacks features indicative of an early date; external evidence suggests an additional gable end stack to the north. Both rooms have stop-chamfered ceiling beams—the right-hand room has four lateral beams with no evidence of subdivision.

The cider house also features stop-chamfered lateral beams and a gable end fireplace with a mural stair. The upper floor has a two-panel 18th-century door originally connecting to the wing, and a boarded ceiling suggesting early existence of an attic.

The barn retains its original layout with opposed entrances, the eastern one in a full-height porch. It is five bays with two bays on either side of a threshing bay, which retains its stone-flagged floor. The barn displays two tiers of square-panelled framing and braces to queen-strut trusses.