Summary
Farmhouse, dated 1758, with C19 and C20 extensions.
Reasons for Designation
Bank Farmhouse is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: a typical Chiltern farmhouse of the mid C18, still largely intact despite later alterations and extensions;
* Plan form: this remains clearly legible, and includes the unusual (for its date) feature of an external stair tower;
* Interiors: surviving features include the original hearth, staircase, doors and door surrounds.
History
The farmhouse originally formed part of a small farmstead, one of two in the remote Chiltern hamlet of Pishill. The main part of the house is dated 1758, although fabric from an older building has been re-used within. The rear north wing was built in the late C19, and a second matching wing added to the south in 1950, in each case probably re-using the lower walls of a pre-existing lean-to. In 1967 a large south extension was built, and the roof over the main house altered. A conservatory was added to the extension in 1984.
Details
MATERIALS
The 1758 core is of red and grey brick with a plinth of knapped flint and an M-shaped tiled roof. The two rear wings are of painted brick. The 1967 extension is clad variously in brick, knapped flint and timber boarding.
PLAN
The original house of 1758 was of a simple two-bay, two-storey, double-pile plan, with the main doorway placed centrally in the east front and a projecting stair tower directly opposite to the west. The latter is now flanked by two-storey wings of late-C19 and mid-C20 date respectively. The 1967 south extension continues the line of the original house, with the 1984 conservatory at its southern end. The 1967 extension and the conservatory are not of special interest.
EXTERIOR
The east (entrance) front of the old house is symmetrical, with two pairs of windows (segment-headed below and square-headed above, with the heads all rebuilt and the frames of modern hardwood) on either side of the central doorway, the latter enclosed within a modern trellis porch. The brickwork here is laid in four broad bands: solid grey brick on a level with the windows, and red brick with grey headers between. Quoins and dressings are all of red brick. One of the north-east quoins is inscribed 'I.L. 1758'. Two further pairs of initials - PH and ST - appear in another brick further down. A massive end stack with sloping off-sets, its upper part rebuilt, projects from the north gable wall. The west (rear) elevation features two near-identical gabled wings of painted brickwork (see above), with some flint construction in the southern wing. Recessed between these is the stair tower, faced in modern brick below and in old brick above, the latter reinforced with light timber framing in the gable. This contains the only old window still in situ, a timber casement with square-paned leaded glass. The south gable wall is wholly enclosed within the 1967 extension.
INTERIOR
The front door, set in a pegged and chamfered surround, opens into a large room (presumably once the kitchen) whose broad open fireplace has a massive timber lintel and built-in seats on each side; the structure here shows signs of rebuilding. The left-hand partition wall is of exposed brick and studwork and incorporates a number of reused timbers, perhaps from an earlier house on the site. The other front room has a small corner fireplace. Both rooms are spanned by chamfered beams with simple run-out stops. There is a re-set casement window, similar to that in the stair tower, in the hallway behind. The stair is of dogleg type, with what appear to be C18 turned oak balusters and handrail. The window retains its original catch plate and casement handle, although it is now fixed shut. Three doorways with beaded surrounds lead off the head of the stairs. Two of the upper rooms have simple plank doors.
