Old Farm Buildings At Bancroft Farm Enclosing Three Sides Of A Yard

The Old Farm Buildings at Bancroft Farm enclose three sides of a yard and date from the late 16th century to the late 18th century. The northern range features a late 16th-century barn with a 18th-century rear aisle, while the western range is another late 16th-century barn with 17th and 18th-century extensions that serve as stables. The southern range includes a late 18th-century shelter-shed that is open to the yard and has a hay loft above.

These buildings are constructed with oak timber frames set on red brick sills, which are higher in the barns. They are tarred and weatherboarded, topped with steep old red tile roofs that have been patched with machine-made tiles. The complex forms a courtyard group adjacent to the road to the south and is part of the former Broom Farm, which has been amalgamated with Bancroft Farm across the road in Ardeley parish.

The three-bay barn in the northern range features stepped-jowled posts and inclined curved queen-posts in a clasped-purlin roof without collars. It has mortices for wind-braces at the eastern end, numbered joints, and double doors in the middle bay facing south into the yard. A long curved brace was inserted when the studs of the back wall were removed to create the 18th-century rear aisle under a catslide roof. There is also a gable opening on the western side for tractors.

The three-bay barn in the western range has swept-jowled posts and inclined queen-posts in a clasped-purlin roof without collars. It features central double doors on the eastern side with raised eaves. The 17th-century two-bay stable on the southern side is the same height as the barn and includes mangers and a hay rack along the rear wall, a stable door to the yard, and a door leading to an 18th-century two-bay stable at the southwest corner. The four-bay shelter-shed in the southern range backs onto the road and has a high gable door on the eastern side leading into the hay loft above, which is supported by axial beams. Some boarding and joists have been removed from the loft floor. This group of buildings presents a picturesque roadside view alongside Broom Manor.