5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, THE COURTYARD

Former farm outbuildings, late 18th century, altered late 20th century, in stone with some brick.

The buildings form a U-shaped range, with their main front facing north-east towards the former farmhouse. One range runs parallel to and behind the front range, with a linking block between it and the right-hand end of the front range. The buildings are constructed of large well-coursed stone to the central tower, flanked by coursed rubble with some brick to the rear, and have stone slate roofs. The main range (numbers 9, 10 and 11) has two storeys with a central three-storey dovecote tower with quoins. The central tower features a blocked elliptical-arched cart entry with two inserted windows above. There is a second floor band with a Venetian window above, of which only the central arched light is glazed. The two-storey flanking blocks have four bays of windows to the left and five to the right. The original openings have deep lintels and projecting sills, and the inserted windows match these. There is a front-facing gable to the right and a hipped gable to the left.

At the rear are stone quoins, and the central tower has a blocked cart entry as at the front, with two windows above. The second floor is of brick and has a Diocletian window with a lowered central light. The flanking bays match those at the front. To the right an original semi-circular arched doorway is now a window with an inserted doorway to the left and a four-light flat-faced mullioned window above. There is an inserted external end stack on the right end.

The linking range (numbers 7 and 8) attached at the left end at right angles is an L-shaped building with a projecting bay to the left. It has three bays of three-light flat-faced mullioned windows and an inserted central doorway. The first floor window in the projecting bay is a dormer.

Attached at right angles to the left of this range is a further range (numbers 5 and 6). It is single storey with a pantile roof to the front and slate to the rear. The pantile roof is lower with clerestory windows above. There are seven bays of stone columns blocked with a recessed wooden wall with windows. Internally a stone wall runs longitudinally through the range, probably formerly an external wall. The range is said to have been animal sheds and is included for group value.

The buildings date to the late 18th century and are shown on the 1854 Ordnance Survey First Edition map in more or less their present form. They were formerly part of a range of farm buildings belonging to Beech Farm, now the Old Courthouse (listed Grade II). In the late 20th century the buildings were converted to form seven domestic dwellings.