History

Originally a C16 cruck-framed hall-house, which had a 2-bay hall and inner and outer rooms. It is said to have an ornate cruck-truss in the centre of the hall, and there was a dais canopy above the dais partition. It was remodelled in the C17 with the insertion of a lobby-entrance, a timber-framed back-to-back fireplace, and an upper floor. Probably in the C19, the roof was raised; some new brickwork was inserted into part of the lower storey later. A new farmhouse was built nearby c1960-70 and the old house converted to farm use.

Exterior

Two-storey range under a slate roof with truncated brick ridge stack to R of centre. The front and rear walls are mainly clad in corrugated iron sheeting with box-panelling preserved beneath, on a stone plinth, the gable end walls of random stone. The front (E) appears as a house with C19-20 detail, whilst the rear (W) appears as a farm building. The front has a lobby-entrance to R of centre. Corrugated iron sheeting to L of doorway, the lower storey to R rebuilt in red brick, probably c1900, the upper storey to R retaining box-panelling with brick nogging, partly covered in roughcast. Only one window is retained to the lower storey, a 3-light small-pane iron casement in the brick section. To the upper storey are 4 x 3-light wooden casements, probably C20, with a single light between the 1st and 2nd windows from L. The rear elevation has doorways to L and centre, both with boarded doors; the unit to the R is open. The N gable end is of stone with box-panelled gable including diagonal struts to apex; the panels are all open. The S gable end is abutted by a later farm range.

Interior

Three cruck-trusses survive in the house, the outer ones with collars. Inside the C17 lobby entrance is the hall to L with service rooms beyond, and parlour to R. Back-to back fireplaces originally half-timbered, the framing partly visible in the parlour; this fireplace has been infilled with stone and a smaller fireplace. A grain silo has been placed in the parlour necessitating the removal of the upper floor. The hall fireplace has been partly infilled with brickwork and a Victorian stove. The ceiling in the hall has a spine beam with narrow chamfer and plain joists. A C20 partition has been inserted axially to provide a passage along the W side of the house, which now contains a straight timber stair. The original post-and-panel partition between hall and service rooms was replaced in the past by a partition of small-scantling timber posts; there are 2 doorways leading into the former service rooms, which partly cut through the cruck blades. The service rooms are no longer divided and the ceiling is partly missing, allowing a view of wattle-and-daub panelling beneath the cruck truss at 1st floor level. No access to upper floor, but an ornate central hall truss was recorded here.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as a C16 cruck-framed hall-house, with good evidence for its conversion to the lobby-entry type in the C17. The cruck trusses are well-preserved, notwithstanding the loss of some external and internal detail.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29506064

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

• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair