Building record 1995/8/3 - Barn & Cartsheds/Stables c. 30m North-West of Hill Farmhouse

{1} Barn and cartsheds/stables. Late C18 and C19. Regular coursed lias with pantile roof. Single-unit barn with range of C19 cartsheds/stables attached at right-angles. Cartsheds/stables have blank elevation to road. Plank door under wood lintel with brick dressings. Pitch hole to right gable. Interior not inspected. Included for group value.

{3} The barn is constructed of coursed lime-and ironstone bonded in a creamy white lime mortar beneath a pan tile roof. Likely to be late 18th century or early 19th century. It is a single space currently accessed via an inserted doorway located in the eastern elevation. Opposite this later doorway on the west side of the barn is an original opening, similarly constructed but with no brickwork in the jambs. There are hayloft doors on both the northern and southern gable ends, though that to the south has been blocked at an unknown date. There are two small, narrow ventilation slits in the east elevation, subsequently blocked and square, cast iron brackets in both the east and west walls, set beneath the eaves which supported the ends of an axle supporting drive belts internally. These cast iron housings are set flush with the external wall surface and have been set within red brick which has also been used to infill them. The ends of the axle shaft it further held in place with X-pattern tie plates. Internally, the drive shaft axle was aligned east-west across the barn at eaves level and further stabilised by iron rods which extended to both the north and south gables; these were presumably to minimise vibration of the shaft. The roof timbers had all been replaced.

To the west is a later range of buildings including stock hovels, stables and a loose box. These buildings are built of coursed limestone rubble on the road frontage and brick facing the yard, all under pan tile roofs.

{5} Undated photo;

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 16/259 (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> 1986, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), G05 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN100394.

<3> Prentice, J and Walker, C., 2015, Archaeological Building Recording at Hill Farm, Mears Ashby, Northamptonshire, November 2015 (Report). SNN110585.

<4> Horne, B (editor), 2016, South Midlands Archaeology (46), P. 35 (Journal). SNN111326.

<5> Photographs of buildings in Mears Ashby (Photographs). SNN112861.

Record last edited

Jan 19 2022 12:28PM