East and West Roadside Barns, and Small Group of Outbuildings in the Yard of Old Hall Farmhouse

East and West Roadside Barns, and Small Group of Outbuildings in the Yard of Old Hall Farmhouse

Two barns dating to the 18th century, with outbuildings of 19th-century date. The barns are constructed of shaped and coursed gritstone with stone slate and corrugated iron roofs. The outbuildings are also of shaped and coursed gritstone, with stone slate and Welsh slate roofs.

The west barn features a wide central doorway opening to the roadside elevation and an aisle running across the width of the rear elevation. The east barn is larger, with two opposing threshing doors and a partial aisle to the rear elevation. A lean-to outbuilding has been built in front of the house against the east gable wall of the barn, with a wash-house on its north side and a first-floor, three-seater earth closet on the south side accessed by external steps. A low, single-storey building containing two separate donkey stables or pig sties stands against the east wall.

The west barn is built of squared, coursed stonework with a plinth and quoins. It has a stone slate roof, damaged at the right-hand end. A central, wide cart entrance with a flat head and wide keystone set into the stone lintel opens onto the road. The left, west gable has a shaped kneeler and stone coping. The quoined east gable flanks the yard entrance. The wide gable wall slopes down to the right, with a doorway featuring a monolithic stone lintel at the far right and three square openings with monolithic stone lintels at ground-floor level. A small window sits at the gable apex. The low rear wall has a doorway set right of centre with stone jambs and monolithic lintel, with a low inserted rectangular opening to its left.

The east barn is built of squared, coursed stonework with a plinth and quoins. Its stone slate roof has corrugated asbestos replacing the upper courses. A wide cart entrance with a shallow segmental head of shaped voussoirs opens onto the road, left of centre. Towards the right-hand end are two square openings with timber shutters. The west gable has kneelers carved with an incised geometric pattern and stone coping. The rear, north elevation features a corresponding segmental-arched cart entrance. To its immediate left is an outshot with corner quoins and a catslide stone slate roof. The low north wall has several small, square openings. The outshot's west side has a doorway with chamfered jambs and monolithic stone lintel with chamfered, segmental head.

The lean-to outbuilding and adjoining double-pitched, single-storey building are of squared, coursed stonework with stone slate roofs, and coursed rubblestone with Welsh slate roof to the wash house. The wash house on the north side has a brick stack. The single-storey building has two adjacent doorways in the east gable wall: the left has a split stable door and the right has a board door.

Interior: The west barn comprises three bays with two pegged king post trusses with raking struts. The trusses rest on square arcade posts on the north side. Diagonal braces rise from the posts to an arcade plate, with a third diagonal brace rising to the king post trusses. There is a diamond-set ridge with two sets of tusked tenoned purlins to each side. The aisle has horizontal aisle ties morticed into the arcade posts, supporting a timber floor.

The east barn comprises five bays with a three-bay aisled section to the rear. Four king post trusses have raking struts. The first two are set on the stone barn walls; the remaining two are supported on arcade posts on the north side. The structure mirrors the west barn with diagonal braces rising from posts to an arcade plate and a third rising to the king post trusses. There is a diamond-set ridge and two purlins to each side. Between the two cart entrances lies a stone-flagged threshing floor. The aisle is partially separated from the main barn by a screen of upright stone slabs with timber laths above, and has horizontal aisle ties morticed into the arcade posts supporting a floor.

The earth closet in the lean-to building has a wooden seat with three holes.

A mid-20th-century milking parlour arrangement at ground-floor level in the aisled section of the west barn, with brick walls and standing feeding chutes and troughs, is excluded from listing as it is not of special architectural or historic interest.