Description

WITHNELL BOLTON ROAD
SD 62 SW
6/223 Close House (Formerly listed
1.3.67 as Middle Farm House)
- II

Farmhouse, now house. Dated 1638 on lintel of rear door but probably 2
builds; altered. Coursed sandstone rubble with quoins (painted white), roof
of stone slate (front) and slate with coping and kneelers at right gable.
L-shaped: 2-bay baffle-entry range with receding 2-bay left wing. Two
storeys; large 2-storey gabled porch-cum-stairturret has doorway offset to
right with roll-moulded surround and hoodmould, a chamfered round-headed
window above, a stairlight window to the left with a hoodmould, and stone
gable coping with kneelers; this stairlight and 2 windows on each floor to the
left are all double-chamfered and formerly all of 2 lights but all lack
mullions except that at ground floor left, which has a hoodmould, as has that
next to the porch but with its right end covered by the porch (suggesting that
porch is early addition). To right of porch a low gabled addition covers most
of the 2nd bay, which otherwise has only all modern openings to front and rear
and a lean-to at the gable wall. Left wing, facing east, has a former doorway
offset right of centre altered as a window and 2 double-chamfered windows on
each floor lacking all mullions but formerly of 3-lights to the left and 2
lights to the right; chimney at left gable and stone copings to both; rear
re-entrant wall of this wing has a doorway with lintel lettered in relief
"1638" (now covered by outer door). Rear of main range has mullioned windows
of 2 and 3 lights at ground floor, one and 3 above (the smaller being
firewindows). Interior: housepart has large inglenook with stone heck
(pierced by triangular peephole) and stop-chamfered bressummer, and 2
longitudinal beams similarly decorated; chamber above has timber-framed
corridor partition; main range has roof with exceptionally long purlins, the
ends carried through the stone partition to the wing, vacant windbrace
housings suggesting re-use; wing has principal-rafter roof truss with small
angle struts and remains of clamstaff and daub infilling in the apex. Second
bay of main range said to have been shippon.

Listing NGR: SD6369923260

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26328153

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)