Not many houses can boast – if that is the right word – having a toilet in the lounge. High Wood Head Farm owner Ruth Pickles says: “It is a 16th century toilet called a lant trough, which still features in the room.”

These small stone troughs can still occasionally be found, and their purpose was a puzzle until it was realised that they were used for collecting urine which was sold to the wool industry for scouring and sometimes dyeing.

Ruth and husband Neil moved in 12 years ago, and Rith says: “I can still remember when we first saw it. We liked the overall size of the house, the many rooms within it and that, when being shown round, rooms appeared in unexpected places, all of which had hidden features ready to be revealed.

“There was also the quaintness of the varying levels within the house, which meant you stepped up and down into many of the rooms. Some of the walls are more than 27 inches thick, and that means a variety of shapes, which all added to the character.

“We were inspired by the opportunity to convert High Wood Head Farm into a family home, focussing on refurbishing and revealing the original features. The original fireplaces had been covered up and replaced by modern fittings, the stone floor in many areas had been resurfaced and a number of the beams had been painted or boxed in.”

High Wood Head Farm originates from an old farmhouse with nearby properties being converted from two barns and a mistal, with the main part of the house dating back to the 16th century, with additions around 150 years ago.

Ruth said: “Although Neil couldn’t wait to get a hammer in his hand and reveal all the original fireplaces and stone walls, our plan was to deal with overall major requirements and then target a room at a time.

“We’ve gradually renovated the house one room at a time, and in many rooms the decor has been updated over and again.

“The kitchen was a particularly challenging time. We’d taken out all the existing fittings and the stone flag floor so that we could lay proper foundations and damp proofing. What we ended up with was basically a field behind closed doors, with roots and wildlife burrows.”

Wherever possible, original materials have been used. “This meant carefully lifting stone floors and then re-laying them after damp proofing. All the flags were different sizes and thicknesses, so lifting and putting them down again was difficult – some of them were six inches thick.”

After a lot of hard work they had a lovely family home with four bedrooms, cloakroom, dining room, sitting room and lounge, plus a breakfast kitchen, pantry and store rooms. Upstairs, the master bedroom has a dressing area and en-suite shower room, and there’s a family bathroom and study.

True to their word, the house is full of character features, like the stone hearth in the entrance hall, exposed stone features in the lounge, cast iron fireplace in the master bedroom and French casement in the lounge.

“I’ve got two favourite rooms,” Ruth says. “The first has got to be what we call the garden room. We call it that because it creates a bridge to the garden from the first floor of the house. It is a light-filled room, just right for ‘quiet’ time.

“The other is the main lounge, which is a very spacious, elegant room with open fire and feature stone walls.”

Ruth and Neil also worked their magic outside. “The house is south-facing, which guarantees great sunlight all day. The garden is particularly big, with a substantial three-tiered deck which encourages outdoor living during spring, summer and autumn.”

High Wood Head Farm, Banks Lane, Riddlesden. Price: £430,000. Agent: Dacre, Son & Hartley, Keighley.

Tel: (01535) 611511