East and West Roadside Barns, and Small Group of Outbuildings in the Yard of Old Hall Farmhouse, Bradfield, Sheffield

Summary

Two barns and outbuildings. C18 barns, C19 outbuildings. Barns, shaped and coursed gritstone, stone slate and corrugated iron roofs, outbuildings, shaped and coursed gritstone, stone slate and Welsh slate roofs

Description

PLAN: left (west) barn has wide central doorway to the roadside elevation and an aisle across the width of the rear elevation. Right (east) barn has large, opposing, threshing doors with a partial aisle to the rear elevation. Lean-to outbuilding built in front of house, against east gable wall of barn to adjoining property, with wash-house on north side and first-floor, three-seater earth closet on south side reached by external steps. Low, single-storey building containing two separate donkey stables or pig sties built against east wall.

EXTERIOR: the left, west barn is built of squared, coursed stonework with a plinth and quoins, and a stone slate roof, missing at the right-hand end. A central, wide cart entrance with a flat head with a wide keystone set into the stone lintel opens onto the road. The left, west gable has a shaped kneeler and stone coping. The quoined east gable flanks the entranceway into the small yard in front of the house. The wide gable wall slopes down to the right, with a doorway with monolithic stone lintel to the far right. There are three square openings with monolithic stone lintels at ground-floor level. At the gable apex is a small window. The low rear wall has a doorway set to the right of centre, with stone jambs and monolithic lintel. To its left is a low, inserted rectangular opening.

The long, east barn is built of squared, coursed stonework with a plinth and quoins. The roof is stone slated, with corrugated asbestos replacing the upper courses. To the left of centre a wide cart entrance with a shallow segmental head of shaped voussoirs opens onto the road. Towards the right-hand end are two square openings with timber shutters. The left, west gable flanking the entrance into the yard has kneelers carved with an incised geometric pattern and stone coping. The rear, north elevation has a corresponding segmental-arched cart entrance. To its immediate left is an outshot with corner quoins and a catslide, stone slate roof. The low, north wall has a number of small, square openings. The west side of the outshot has a doorway with chamfered jambs and a monolithic stone lintel with chamfered, segmental head to the door.

The lean-to outbuilding and adjoining double-pitched, single-storey building in front of the house are built of squared, coursed stonework with stone slate roofs and coursed rubblestone with a Welsh slate roof to the wash house. The wash house on the north side has a brick stack. The single-storey building has two adjacent doorways in the east gable wall. The left doorway has a split stable door and the right doorway has a board door.

INTERIOR: the west barn is of three bays with two pegged king post trusses with raking struts. The trusses are supported on square arcade posts on the north side of the barn. Diagonal braces rise from the arcade posts to an arcade plate with a third diagonal brace rising to the king post trusses. There is a diamond-set ridge with two sets of tusked tenoned purlins to each side. The aisle has horizontal aisle ties morticed into the arcade posts which support a timber floor.

The east barn is of five bays with a three-bay aisled section to the rear. The four king post trusses have raking struts. The first two are set on the stone walls of the barn, and the remaining two are supported on arcade posts on the north side of the barn. It is similar to the west barn with diagonal braces rising from the posts to an arcade plate, and a third diagonal brace rising to the king post trusses. There is a diamond-set ridge and two purlins to each side. Between the two cart entrances is a stone-flagged threshing floor. The aisle is partially separated from the main barn by a screen of up-right stone slabs with timber laths above. It also has horizontal aisle ties morticed into the arcade post which support a floor.

The earth closet in the lean-to building has a wooden seat with three holes.

EXCLUSIONS: Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 ('the Act') it is declared that the mid-C20 milking parlour arrangement inserted at ground-floor level with brick walls and standing, feeding chutes and troughs in the aisled section of the west barn is not of special architectural or historic interest.

History

Old Hall Farmhouse originated as a cruck-framed building. Dendro-dating of the two intact cruck blades gives a felling date of 1484 indicating Old Hall was built when Richard III was on the throne. Subsequently in the C17 the house was encased in stone with two gables to the front elevation, indicating that a first-floor was inserted at this time. The house was extended westwards in the C17 with the construction of a two-storey extension, which appears to have formed a second house. In the late C17 a two-storey and attic parlour block was built against the north-east corner of the original house.

During the C18 two barns were built facing onto the roadside in front of the house, with the gap between them forming a gateway into a small yard between them and the house. The left-hand, west barn had a full-width aisle across the rear elevation and the right-hand, east barn had a threshing floor with opposing cart entrances and a partial aisle across the rear elevation.

In the C19 outbuildings were built within the yard including a wash-house, a first-floor earth closet, and two donkey stables or pig sties.

Reasons for Listing

The C18 east and west roadside barns and small group of C19 outbuildings in front of Old Hall Farmhouse, Brightholmlee, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as two closely located barns which demonstrate a clear agricultural investment by the C18 landowner;
* Plan form: both barns show a dual use of crop storage and animal husbandry with a threshing floor and three-bayed aisled section for animals in the east barn and a rear aisle for animals in the west barn;
* Interior: the barns retain their roof structures of king post trusses with raking struts and also the braced arcading separating the rear aisled areas, and in addition the east barn retains its stone-flagged threshing floor and a separating screen of up-right stone slabs between the main barn and the aisle;
* Group value: the C19 stone outbuildings, which include a first-floor, three-seater earth closet, wash house and two former pigsties or donkey stables, stand in the small yard between Old Hall Farmhouse and the roadside east and west barns and has group value with them due to their proximity and an historical functional association.

External Links

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