Heady Fields Houses And Attached Barns

Heady Fields comprises a pair of two-storey weavers' cottages with attached laithes at either end, extending northward to form two short wings. Built in the early 19th century, the buildings are constructed of coursed hammer-dressed stone, mostly watershot, with ashlar dressings and a stone slate roof that is hipped at each end of the main range and gabled on the north elevations of the laithes. One ridge ashlar chimney stack remains on the main range. Each barn has four bays, and the cottages each have two cells side by side, creating a four-bay range extending over two storeys.

The south elevation presents a continuous run of masonry with large quoins at each end. The laithes at either end have blank walls, while the cottages each display a prominent 11-light run of windows at first floor level set in flat-faced mullions. The ground floor openings are now mostly blocked due to raised ground levels and consist of, to the left, a three-light, then a five-light, then a single-light window, and to the right, a three-light window, a second three-light with an adjacent blocked entrance, and a single-light window. Iron brackets formerly supporting guttering remain, though the roof now has missing slates with exposed timbers.

The east and west returns, forming the side walls of the laithes, are similar in character. Each has a central cart entrance with arched ashlar dressings and large quoins at each end. The roofs are hipped to the south and have moulded kneelers to the north. Apart from small ventilation holes, there are no other openings.

The north elevation of the cottages has one three-light window on the first floor of each dwelling with an entrance below. The right-hand cottage has a later inserted entrance adjacent to the laithe. The inner return walls of the barns contain blocked threshing doors opposite the cart entrances and mistal doors near the northern end, with the western laithe's mistal door blocked. The north elevations of the laithes each have a blocked window on the ground floor and an oculus high in the gable. Stone corbels run along the roof on this side, and the gables have moulded kneelers with quoins at each corner.

The eastern cottage contains two rooms on the ground floor, each with a fireplace. Flagged floors have been removed throughout. The larger eastern room has a blocked entrance to the south with an attached run of three-light and single-light windows. The fireplace on the east wall retains the remains of a brick-lined range within a stone surround. A timber stair along the north wall is divided from the room by plain timber panelling, with stone steps leading down to an inaccessible cellar below. A door leads to the second room, which has a fireplace with a later lintel on its west wall and an altered three-light window to the south. The ceiling timbers are machine-cut and support broad floorboards on the first floor. The stairs lead to a single upper-floor room with a timber partition. The smaller eastern room has a three-light window to the north and the easternmost three-lights of the continuous south run; it is accessed by a plank door and has a blocked fireplace with hearth stone on the eastern wall. The ceiling is mostly planked.

The western cottage is similar, with a fireplace in each of the two ground-floor rooms. Part of the wall between the two rooms has been demolished. The five-light south window on the western ground-floor room shows evidence of alteration with brick infill below the current sills. The fireplace in the western room has a heavy stone lintel with a projecting ledge above; the eastern room fireplace has a heavy stone lintel and is partially infilled with brick. The stairs have been removed, though a timber edging shows their former position against the north wall and the stairs to the cellar remain, though blocked with debris. The upper floor is only accessible by ladder and the floor is unsafe and partly lost. The remains of a fireplace on the western wall are visible, as is the roof structure, which is composed of braced queen-strut trusses in machine-cut timber with double side purlins held between the principal rafters.

The two barns are similar, being open to the roof structure. Each has two queen-strut trusses and one king-post truss at the south end, linked to the structure for the hipped corner. Both show evidence of an intermediate floor through beam settings, extant at the north end of the eastern building. The internal surround of the oculus is straight to the sides and top, with a timber wall plate below the apex of the gable end. Some tie-beam settings indicate they formerly held larger timbers, and some timbers appear older than others.

Historical records suggest occupation of the site from the 17th century, with local tradition mentioning a tannery. The current buildings date from the early 19th century and were part of the estate of Joseph Green-Armytage of Thick Hollins Hall. The 1841 Census records a large family living at Heady Fields engaged in the woollen trade, consistent with the extensive weavers' windows in the houses. The 1854 Ordnance Survey map shows the buildings, including the barns at each end, together with detached buildings to the north and east forming a courtyard. The laithes indicate an agricultural component alongside involvement in the woollen trade throughout much of the 19th century, as confirmed by Census returns.

The footprint of the main buildings appears largely unchanged since the early 19th century, except for the loss of a small extension on the south side of the right-hand unit and a greenhouse or conservatory on the south side of the left-hand unit, which remained until the mid-20th century. A golf course established in 1908 included the building, and subsequent landscaping altered ground levels to both front and back.

The building was occupied by the Head Greenkeeper before the First World War but has been used only for storage since 1933. In 1977 the stone slate roof was turned, resulting in the loss of all but one chimney stack and copings. The building was listed in 1984 and has since been allowed to deteriorate with the loss of some roof slates and consequent internal damage.