Reynolds Farm Cassington, England

Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.

CASSINGTON

1700/0/10008 WITNEY 24-MAR-11 REYNOLDS FARM

GV II Former farmhouse, built on a moated site. The core is a substantial late C16 or C17 house of which the northern bay is likely to be contemporary or slightly later in date. Later C19 alterations and c1900, added north-east wing and porch and associated internal alterations.

MATERIALS: the core of the house is built in limestone rubble with freestone quoins, and is patched or replaced in brick. The upper floor of the south gable wall is rebuilt in brick and rendered; the entire roof has been rebuilt and is clad in red concrete tiles. Circa 1900 wing in red brick in Flemish bond, and at a later date cement rendered, has tile roofs.

PLAN: a three-bay, two-storey range with a prominent centrally-placed, single-bay, three and a half storey gabled wing, which externally resembles a stair bay, which is attached to, and opens into the central bay. It may be slightly later in date than the main range. It and the southern wing are built over a cellar now reached from beneath the gabled bay; blocked stairs rise in the south-west angle of the cellar beneath the main range.

The northernmost bay of the main range is of similar construction but may be of slightly later date; it was subsequently altered internally. Attached to this bay is a single-storey gabled kitchen/scullery wing and a small late C19 conservatory. A large internal stack rises through the house to the north of the projecting, gabled bay. To the south-west of the stack a newel stair survives to first floor level, to the north-east of the stack at first floor level there appears to have been a small closet.

Circa 1900 an entrance hall was created in the north bay of the house and a two-storey wing and porch to the north-east were added to provide a large drawing room and additional bedrooms. The current stairs were installed in the mid-C20.

EXTERIOR: the south face of the southern range, in two storeys and two irregular bays, has, as elsewhere in the house, a first floor C20 timber casement beneath a timber lintel. A continuous timber beam or lintel is exposed at first floor level, interrupted by an inserted C20 door opening. The gable wall has irregularly-placed, two-light-C20 timber casements. On the north elevation is a C19 three-over-six pane ground floor sash window, and at first floor a two-light timber casement and a small closet window of early date.

The single-bay gabled wing is symmetrically treated as the centrepiece of the house, having windows which diminish in scale from ground to upper floors. At ground floor level is a four-light, ovolo-moulded window with later rectangular leaded panes. At lower level is the head of an opening which is blocked by the accumulated ground level. Upper floor windows, as elsewhere in the house are replaced timber casements under chamfered timber lintels, but here they reflect the graduated scale of the original openings; internally the original lintels are visible. The south-facing elevation of the bay has small single-light windows; the cellar ceiling is of very broad planks.

Beneath the eaves of the north wing is a late C17 or early C18 small metal-framed casement window in a moulded internal architrave; it has lozenge-leaded panes and its original catch. The main entrance, in the north-facing gable wall, has a framed plank door in a simple moulded architrave with a chamfered lintel and beneath a deep moulded canopy. It is flanked by a six-over-six pane sash in a flush stone surround and keystone. The upper floors each have a single timber casement. The c1900 wing has two-over-two paned horned sashes, on the ground floor beneath segmental arches, and a gable end brick stack.

INTERIOR: the principal ground floor room, which, unusually, includes the single, gabled bay, has a large basket-headed-arched, chamfered stone fireplace. To the left is a small bre