| Description | Westfield House, Warley. High status house. Possible late 15th century origins as a timber framed house later stone cased.
'Westfield Farmhouse and Westfield House and attached doorway GV II House, now 2, and attached doorway. Late C16/early Cl7 with C17 additions, probably late C15 remains and C19 alterations and subdivisions, C20 alterations. Remains of timber frame cased in large blocks of coursed squared stone, stone slate roof. Complex plan, apparently originally a hall with through passage and crosswing on left with 2nd crosswing added to left (the 2 crosswings now Westfield farmhouse), extended to rear early C19; the right hand part (Westfield House) altered and raised early C19 when subdivided into 2 cottages.
East (entrance) front: 2 storeys, 4 bays, the 2 on left flush crosswings. Chamfered doorway to through passage with ornamental device on lintel is in pent porch with chamfered doorway abutting right side of right crosswing. Windows are mostly double chamfered mullioned.
Left crosswing: 5 light C19/C20 recessed flat faced mullion window with tall 5 light window under hoodmould above. Shaped kneeler, coping and finial to gable.
Right crosswing: joint between the 2. A 7 light window and 2 light fire window to each floor, all with hoodmoulds, lower fire window with one stanchion. Shaped kneeler, coping and finial to gable; hole for gutter spout between the 2 gables, stack to outer side of each wing. 2 right hand bays: facade of 2 cottages, each with C20 glazed door on right and a 4 light flat faced mullion window to left on each floor, all openings with plain stone surrounds. Roof hipped to right; stack to left. Attached to front left corner of building is C20 wall with C17 quoined, chamfered ogee headed doorway, the lintel incised with dated panel, 'NM IM/1666' and scrolls.
Rear: right hand portion (crosswings): a 4 light flat faced mullion window to each floor of each wing, plus a later doorway and inserted lst floor lights on left (masked by c1980 garage, not of interest). Shaped kneeler on right. Left hand portion: gabled bay projects on left. To right of this is door and 3 light chamfered window with 5 light double chamfered mullion and transom window above.
Left return: rendered. External stack. To its right, on lst floor, a projection (said to be a garderobe) with 2 light chamfered mullion window. To its left 2 light chamfered mullion windows, ground floor ones tall (?C19/C20).
Right return: C20 door with 2 light flat faced mullion window to left and same above. To its right a 4 light chamfered mullion window with 3 light window above, the lights arched and with sunk spandrels.
Interior: Westfield Farmhouse: right crosswing: front room has large segmental arched fireplace with skewbacks and decorative mouldings and massive spliced spine beams with broad stopped chamfer indicating former bressummer; back room has similar fireplace with cyma moulded cornice and spliced stop chamfered spine beams and joists. lst floor: front room has small fireplace with twist moulding to arris and king post truss with A struts. Flanking this wing are spliced former wall plates with morticed soffits and at its rear, at junction with extension, is tie beam with mortices in soffit for former wall timbers and seatings for former rafters. Left crosswing: on ground floor, front room has low shallow arched chamfered fireplace and stop chamfered spine beams; rear room has low segmental arched fireplace brought from Westfield House end, and in right wall a wooden triangular arched lintel with one edge joggled and central moulding brought forward from its position in the right hand wing. Rooms above have concealed A strutted king post trusses'.
(English Heritage listed building description. Date listed 19/07/1988. http://list.english heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1300289. Web site accessed 31/01/2014). |