Barn At Portfield Farm

The barn at Portfield Farm is an aisled barn dating from around 1600. It is constructed of sandstone rubble and has a slate roof. The east wall features a wide entrance with quoined reveals and a timber lintel. To the left of the entrance are two worn, chamfered one-light windows, with a later window having plain reveals positioned between them. Breathable vents are located under the eaves, and there is a blocked doorway at the left. To the right of the entrance, there are two windows with plain reveals and a blocked one-light chamfered window.

The left gable wall contains two doorways leading into the aisles and a first-floor pitching hole, all with plain reveals. The right gable wall has a blocked double-chamfered window under the apex, two 19th-century windows on the first floor, and three on the ground floor. There is a door with plain reveals at the left, and further right, a blocked doorway with a plain stone surround.

Inside, the barn has five main bays. The trusses feature raking queen struts and tie beams that are braced to aisle posts. The aisle plates are also braced to the posts. Aisle ties and principals extend from the posts to the outer walls. Intermediate aisle posts are located between the main bays, each with their own aisle ties and principals, but there are no tie beams or principals spanning the nave. The northern truss has been replaced by or encased in a later brick wall that contains a flue for a first-floor fireplace. At the northern end, where the barn is lofted, the outer ends of some aisle ties are visible, terminating at short wall posts with curved angle braces. Their size, along with the absence of jowling or evidence of jointing with a wallplate, indicates that they are contemporary with the current stone walling and do not suggest earlier timber walls.