Summary
House, originating in the late C16 or early C17, partially rebuilt and enlarged in the early C19.
Description
House, originating in the late C16 or early C17, partially rebuilt and enlarged in the early C19.
MATERIALS: the early part of the house is timber-framed with brick nogging and a sandstone ashlar and brick chimneystack, and one elevation is red brick laid in Flemish bond. The later phases of the building are a mixture of different types of rubble and dressed stone: sections are in sandstone, and there are areas of limestone. The roof is tiled and has brick chimneystacks.
PLAN: the historic farmstead was arranged in a loose courtyard plan, with the farmhouse at the south-east corner, with pigsties 8m to the west, stables 6m to the north, and barns enclosing the west and north sides of the courtyard.
The farmhouse has an irregular footprint: the square-plan timber-framed wing stands at the east, and is abutted by the roughly L-shaped stone building, the main range to which runs east-west, with a wing projecting at the north-west end. There are modern extensions on the north and west elevations (excluded from the listing).
The timber-framed structure is a single cell on each floor, extended to the north. The stone-built main range has three principal rooms on the ground floor; the main sitting room (amalgamated with the former stair hall), and the open-plan kitchen/dining room including the north-west wing. The main stair has been moved into the modern extension to the north (excluded from the listing). The historic plan-form remains legible on the first floor.
EXTERIOR: the house consists of two distinct historic elements: the timber-framed and brick range to the east, and the stone-built ranges to the west.
The former is two storeys and an attic beneath a pitched roof. The south gable end is constructed from seven bays of small box-framing with diagonal corner struts and brick nogging. Each ascending storey projects slightly, and the wall pates are chamfered and moulded. There are moulded consoles beneath the ground-floor window and at the angles of the eaves. Windows are multiple-light casements which occupy the central three bays of the frame on the ground and first floor, and there is a smaller window in the attic. A deeply-projecting stone chimneystack rises externally on the east elevation; the top has ornate Jacobean star-plan stacks. The box-framing continues across the elevation and on the right adjoins the brick-built northern elevation. There is a brick outshut to the ground floor. The northern gable end has segmental-arched window openings with a variety of casement types, and an oeil-de-boeuf in the attic.
The main east-west range and north-west wing are built in stone. The principal elevation faces south, flush with the timber-framed range, and with its pitched roof crossing at a right angle. It is four bays wide, the left-hand three of which appear to have been built in a single phase as a symmetrical composition. This section has a central doorway with windows to either side, all with segmental-arched heads; the openings are repeated on the first floor, with flat brick-faced lintels. Windows are a mixture of timber and metal three-light casements with horizontal glazing bars. Chimneystacks bookend the three bays, that on the right being particularly wide. The fourth, right-most bay adjoins the timber-framed wing, and has a window to each floor, similarly detailed though in narrower openings; there is a cellar beneath this bay. The north-west wing projects perpendicularly from the main range. Windows are similarly detailed, with brick-lined segmental arches. The northern gable end has large stone quoins and sandstone walls to the ground floor, above which it appears to be built in limestone.
On the north elevation, at the junction between the main range and north-west wing, is a late-C20 extension incorporating parts of an earlier structure. There is a C21 extension on the western gable end. These two elements are excluded from the listing.
INTERIOR: the timber-framed structure at the eastern end is exposed internally, and is a single cell to each floor with some reconfiguration on the north side. The relatively wide timbers and deeply-chamfered beams suggest a late-C16 or early-C17 date. The timber frame provides evidence of having been extended or rebuilt on the north: jowled corner posts (one concealed, or removed by the later bread oven) indicate the probable original building line, and there is a blocked doorway adjacent to the existing doorway into the hall. The box-framed partition to the hall bears scars suggesting it has been truncated. There is a deep, dressed-stone fireplace with a brick bread oven to the left-hand-side. In the first-floor bedroom the fireplace is similar, though has brick above the lintel. The box-framing continues on the first floor and into the attic. In the attic the queen-post truss is exposed on the northern side, and there is a single rank of deep purlins; an opening has been created between the posts creating a doorway to the bathroom. Rafters on the western side of the roof have been removed to link with the void loft space of the main range of the building, the pitched roof of which is at a perpendicular angle; the gable end has a truss with raking struts, and studs above the tie, and an opening into the adjacent loft (which was inaccessible and not inspected).
The ground-floor study, adjacent to the timber-framed wing, has fair-faced framing exposed on the party wall. One of the panels is infilled with wattle. The large main sitting room has been united with a central stair hall, the partition to which has been removed, and the stair has been reconstructed in the northern extension. There is a wide, brick-lined fireplace with a deep timber lintel. The kitchen/dining room likewise have been opened-up from a series of smaller rooms in the northern wing. There is a brick fireplace in a segmental-arched opening, and a box-framed partition to the former stair hall.
On the first floor of the main range there are a number of exposed deep timber cross- and spine-beams. The house has several ledge and plank doors with wrought iron catches and hinges.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: a stable stands to the north of the farmhouse. It is also constructed from small box-framing, which survives well on the east elevation, and the internal partition between the two cells. The west elevation and the gable ends have undergone some rebuilding. The southern cell has a brick-lined floor, and the north is concrete. The ceiling appears to have been lowered, probably in the conversion of the hayloft to domestic accommodation. Some historic timbers remain on the first floor.
History
The first available map evidence for Shear Farm is the 1” Ordnance Survey of 1832, which marks the farmstead as ‘Shire’. The parish registers (1915) note ‘Schere’ as meaning the edge of the parish, adjoining Coreley, and in more recent years the farm is said to have been a sheep-shearing station.
The Tithe map of 1844 clearly shows the farmstead, which in terms of its overall plan has changed little, though the agricultural buildings have been largely renewed. The plan of the farmhouse at the time shows two structures on its northern elevation which are no longer present.
The building consists of a timber-framed wing, believed to have originated in the late-C16 or early-C17, and an L-shaped stone-built section which appears to date from the early C19. The timber-framed structure appears to be the cross-wing of a larger, high-status building; this would have continued on the west and has been replaced, or encapsulated, by the extant masonry structure. The wide chimneystack is suggestive of a baffle-entry plan form. Within the timber-framed section, jowled corner posts suggest the building has been extended northwards, and historic maps show an adjacent structure which no longer exists. The northern gable end has been rebuilt in brick, probably in the Victorian period. The timber frame bears further evidence of modification: the northern box-framed wall has been truncated on one side, and cut away to accommodate a large brick bread oven on the other.
The principal, south-facing elevation of the stone part of the building appears to be of two phases: three symmetrical bays on the west, and a linking block, probably a reconstruction of the earlier timber-framed building, on the right, adjoining the cross-wing. Internally, the three-bay range appears to have a room on either side of a central stair hall. On the ground floor, the hall and eastern room have been opened-up, and the stair moved to the northern extension. The north-west wing, incorporating different areas of stone, appears to have originated as a single storey, possibly containing ancillary rooms to the kitchen. It has also been opened-up, to create a large kitchen/dining room.
There is a late-C20 extension at the junction of the main range and the north-west wing. This appears to have replaced an earlier structure, incorporating some of the building fabric. An extension was built upon the western gable end of the main range in the early C21. These areas are excluded from the listing.
Reasons for Listing
Shear Farm and stable are listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* originating in the C16 or C17, with a cross-wing of very high constructional calibre with good detailing which survives well;
* the building illustrates its historic development, incorporating significant fabric from a number of stylistic phases and reflecting the changing architectural traditions, from timber-framing to stone and brickwork;
* the associated timber-framed stable retains a significant proportion of historic fabric and illustrates its function.
Historic interest:
* the house has evolved over four or five centuries and reflects aspects of the changing pattern and form of rural domestic buildings over time;
* for its ability to illustrate C16/C17 timber-framed building techniques.
External Links
External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.
Recommended Books
Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)