Grain Ridge, including garden building to the north

Grain Ridge, including garden building to the north

Grain Ridge is a former malthouse dating to the 18th century, converted to a dwelling in the 1930s. The building and the adjacent Old House (Grade II) form a linear range running approximately east-west, set back from the north side of Sandy Lane. Grain Ridge comprises a main range of four bays with a wider fifth bay at the east end, behind which stands a further wing at the north-east corner. The building is set over three floors and appears to be an example of the Newark type of maltings.

The materials are red brick laid in Flemish garden wall bond, with tiled roofs and brick chimneystacks.

The principal elevation faces south and consists of a four-bay range on the left and a wide projection on the right. On the ground floor of the four-bay range are two pairs of casement windows to the left and a single casement to the right; most windows have diamond-leaded glazing. A ledge and plank doorway with decorative nail heads and strap hinges, set within timber jambs, has been inserted between the windows. An open-sided, half-hipped porch supported on square timber posts is present. On the first floor are three oriel windows and a single casement to the right. A dentil cornice runs at the eaves, matching the Old House. The roof is pitched with a half-hip on the east end. The brick arches of the original malthouse window openings remain visible in the masonry.

The rear elevation of the main range has an inserted doorway on the ground floor and a three-light casement above. A small window to the right represents an original opening beneath a rough brick arch. Two tall square chimneystacks have been built on this elevation, and a lean-to sunroom has been added on the right.

At the south-east end of the main range, the building line steps forward beneath a catslide roof, and a 1724 date stone protrudes at the base. This section is lit from the south by a row of four casements within a wide opening with a brick soldier-course lintel. Above, a four-light dormer with a hipped roof interrupts the eaves and dentil cornice. The east return elevation has a chimneystack with a deep projection at the base, possibly representing the heat source of the original malting kiln; inserted window openings flank it on either side. Three windows have been inserted at eaves level.

The north-east wing is two storeys with a pitched roof and dentil cornice. A doorway within a segmental arched opening is on the north gable end. The adjacent window, with its flat lintel of brick headers, is presumed to be an insertion. The east elevation has inserted windows on both floors. The west elevation has been built upon with a late-twentieth-century outshut extension.

Internally, the building was subdivided during its 1930s conversion to a dwelling. The main range was likely originally a single open space and now has a partition approximately halfway along, creating a dining hall in the middle and a lounge to the west on the ground floor. Transverse beams with axial joists support the first floor; the transverse beams are chamfered and have lamb's tongue stops. Fireplaces were inserted as part of the conversion. The east end has a living room and WC within the southern section and a kitchen to the north. Between the kitchen and sitting room, a wide segmental arched opening has been blocked. A large inglenook on the east end wall contains a modern fireplace. The bressumer, a reused timber, is built into the masonry and has wedge corbels. The kitchen and utility are in the northern wing, with a shower room added to one side.

A dog-leg stair rises from the dining hall within a large opening in the first floor; this floor, with timber boarding, was likely used for grain storage. The stair emerges onto a large landing with a gallery above the stair well. One bedroom lies to the west; two more bedrooms occupy the south-east end, and one is within the north-east wing. This latter room has a substantial truss; its tie beam has been removed, and its raking queen posts have been truncated and attached to an inserted collar.

The attic above the main range is reached by a ladder hatch and is partially enclosed by boarding, possibly the edges of a former bin. The attic has a lime ash floor with two hatches for the vertical movement of material and a hoist at the west end. The roof structure consists of raised crucks which have been truncated part way up and tied together by collars. There is a very deep purlin on either side, with vacant mortises on the upper face, probably related to an earlier roof structure.

To the north, in the grounds, is a garden building adapted from an earlier agricultural structure. It is rectangular on plan, single storey with an attic, and has a pitched roof. The south elevation has two doorways in cambered arched openings with a small multi-light window in between, also in an arched opening. The rear elevation has a series of insertions: centrally a full-height opening with double doors and glazing above, and a pair of casements in flat-arched openings to either side. A similar window appears in the west gable end, and an arched opening is present at attic level in the east gable. The end elevations have gable parapets and brick kneelers. Internally, the building is open to the roof, with a hay loft floor having been removed during conversion to a garden building.