Cornerstone

This building, of unknown original function, is likely late 17th or very early 18th century, with alterations in the early 19th century and subsequent changes. Constructed of coursed squared sandstone with quoins, it has a stone slate roof. The building has a cruciform plan, comprising a main range of three structural bays running north-south, with east and west outshuts projecting from the centre. Originally two storeys, with a slightly raised appearance, it may have formerly had a tall third storey. A high, chamfered plinth runs along all sides except the south end.

The north end of the main range has tall cross-windows with chamfered flush mullions and transoms, under cavetto-moulded hoodmoulds, on both the east and west sides. A segmental-headed doorway is situated next to each cross-window; the doorway on the west side has been partially incorporated into a widening of the adjacent outshut, which now features a two-light mullioned window with a chamfered flush mullion. The north gable wall is particularly thick and terminates below the current roofline, with the upper portion stepped back and rendered. The east outshut’s south side has openings on both floors: 19th-century windows and a first-floor doorway accessed by recently altered steps. The west outshut’s south side has been recently extended to the southwest corner, and the south gable (serving as the main entrance front) has recently inserted openings.

Internally, the north bay has a higher floor level, and vacant sockets within the masonry suggest it was formerly partitioned by a timber-framing partition. The west outshut contains a timber lintel, likely a remnant of previously lower eaves. The east outshut formerly had a similar lintel. An early extension to the west outshut incorporates a stone bowl or piscina built into the wall below the two-light window. The roof structure includes two 19th-century queen-post trusses made of bolted softwood.