Crowtrees Farmhouse, barn, associated cobble surface and stone water tank

This is a house dating from the early 17th century with 18th-century, early 19th-century and later alterations, together with a 17th-century barn that has undergone later additions and alterations, an associated cobbled surface, and a stone water tank.

Materials

The early 19th-century part of the house is built of neatly coursed buff ashlar. The earlier sections are constructed in larger sandstone laid in irregular courses. The former garden building with dovecote is built of random, coursed squared sandstone. All buildings are roofed with stone slates laid in diminishing courses.

Plan

The house has a T-shaped plan consisting of a linear three-unit front range with a short projecting rear service range.

Exterior

Main South Elevation

The early 19th-century main south elevation comprises three bays over two storeys in a symmetrical arrangement. This was created by modifying the centre and west units of the early 17th-century house. It is constructed of neatly coursed stone beneath a pitched roof with stone ridge tiles, stone slates and gutter corbels above a plain frieze. Chimney stacks are positioned at each end; the right-hand stack has a cap carried on wooden corbels.

A central round-headed entrance features a keystone, imposts and a fanlight with radiating glazing bars. It retains a six-panel door and is flanked on either side by a rectangular sash window. At first-floor level, a central casement stair window echoes the styling of the entrance and is flanked by rectangular sash windows on either side. The windows have plain stone surrounds and replacement one-over-one sashes, though the stair window retains its small panes.

East Unit

The lower, two-bay, two-storey early 17th-century east unit to the right is built of large and irregular stonework. It has a pitched roof of stone slate, gutter corbels and a right-hand end chimney stack. At ground-floor level there is a two-light flat-faced mullion window in a plain stone surround, and a former entrance with a pointed segmental-headed lintel and chamfered jambs, now blocked with a small inserted window. At first-floor level there is a central two-light flat-faced mullioned window in a plain stone surround.

The right return has a pair of single-light chamfered attic windows, one now blocked. The left return has two early 19th-century windows with small-pane replacement frames and preserves evidence of the former early 17th-century roof line.

West Range

The single-storey set-back west range has inserted doors and windows with a full-length conservatory to the front. The gabled west end of this range features a six-hole apex dovecote with perching ledges and a rear set of stone steps leading to a first-floor entrance.

Rear Elevation

The rear elevation has a central projecting service range with a pair of windows in its rear wall. To the left are a two-light flat-faced mullioned window and a small square window in a crude plain surround; below is a lean-to porch with cyma-moulded door surround and stained-glass windows. To the right of the central projecting range is a four-light flat-faced mullioned window, one light retaining an original miniature vertical sliding sash window.

Interior

The original early 17th-century three-unit house plan is largely retained on both floors, the central unit having been divided into a stair hall and smaller reception room. The decorative scheme and fixtures and fittings are mostly early 19th century. Most of the early 19th-century wall linings and six-panel doors remain throughout the house, and all principal rooms have folding panelled window shutters, soffits and reveals.

Ground Floor

The south entrance opens into a stair hall containing an open string staircase with wrought iron balusters incorporating circular and floriate motifs, a mahogany handrail, and ornate newel posts including a twisted section. The staircase has stone steps with moulded edges.

On either side of the stair is a high-ceilinged reception room. The left room has a white fire mantle with swag motif and twin classical columns, a grey marble surround to the cast iron grate and dark green marble hearth. An alcove to the right is filled with fitted cupboards. The ceiling has two plastered beams with restrained embossed ceiling decoration and coves.

The right room has two plastered ceiling beams with a vertically ribbed frieze detail, similar embossed ceiling panels but with late Victorian Lincrusta centre panels, and a ceiling rose. The white fire mantle has a central swag and low relief decoration including vertical ribbing, dark green veined marble fire surround and cast-iron grate with hot plates having decorative blue and white tiled splashbacks. The black tiled hearth has integral cast iron air ducts. Fitted cupboards fill the alcove to the right of the fire.

To the left of the fire is a doorway with deep fully panelled bolection moulded linings and matching original doors leading through to a third reception room, formerly the east parlour of the three-cell house. This retains the original low ceiling and massive central ceiling beam on large corbels, which received an early 19th-century decorative panelled casing. The gable and cross walls parallel to the beam have corbelled stone ledges which probably supported a planked first floor.

The north outshoot retains a semi-basement cellar with single arch barrel vault and a stone rack for five beer or wine barrels. There is a blocked low-level barrel hatch from the north and a walled-in window or vent in the west wall. Above the cellar is a former scullery, and there is also a kitchen and laundry.

First Floor

The early 19th-century straight-flight stair rises to a landing with short flights to either side, that on the east side leading to a large balustraded landing. At the eastern end of this corridor, steps lead down to the room above the east parlour; the tie beam of an original oak roof truss is visible down the centre of a later ceiling. The remaining bedrooms on the south front have wide boarded floors and high plain ceilings with large shuttered windows.

Trapdoors give access to the roof voids where the cantilevered fire-hood chimney stones are retained, along with the later-raised early 17th-century oak braced kingpost trusses in the centre and west house cells.

West Range Interior

The west range has a single waney beam (probably re-used) and otherwise has an entirely modern interior.

Barn

An attached pitch-roofed barn is built in random coursed buff rubble sandstone with large quoins. The north-east roof pitch is shallower, and the upper wall partly rebuilt. The main elevation has a wide shallow-arched entrance with 20th-century timber door and a small entrance with a substantial lintel. There are early 21st-century stone mullioned windows to the right end and to the east gable, the latter also with inserted upper loop lights. Each gable has an apex owl slot.

The rear elevation has a former winnowing door with a substantial shaped lintel and a Bulcock family initialled datestone of 1741. The barn has a cobbled entrance and retains an original flagged threshing floor. Parts of the lower walls retain their limewash finish. An original inset door is indicated by an early door head pivot plank at the entrance to the threshing floor, and one original principal rafter truss is retained.

A lean-to harness room and coach house is attached to the right. The former is lit by a 16-pane vertical sash window, and the latter has an arched opening, a stone-flagged floor and a triangular corner hearth.

Stable Yard and Water Tank

The barn and coach house have an associated river cobbled stable yard of two phases, separated by a line of larger edging stones. An underground circular stone tank, 1.2 metres deep and about 5 metres in diameter, covered by large flat surface slabs, is situated in the north-east corner of the stable yard and extends slightly beneath Barleydale Road. It has two chambers separated by a double stone wall, hand dressed and squared in places, connected by a central space within the dividing wall.