Barn With Corn Mill And Attached Stable Forming North East Side Of Former Farmyard At Woolley House

A barn with a corn mill and attached stable, forming the northeast side of a former farmyard at Woolley House, dates to the 17th century or earlier, with the mill and stable likely added in the early 19th century. The barn is timber framed with weatherboard cladding on a rebuilt brick plinth, and has a Welsh slate roof. The stable is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond, with some glazed headers and a plain tile roof.

The barn is of six and a half bays. A bay at the west end was added, and bricked off from the rest of the barn, incorporating a floor, an animal wheel, and the corn mill. A brick addition is present at the east end, and the stable is attached to the southeast corner, forming an L-shaped plan. Strap-hinged board doors are found throughout the structure. The south-facing (yard) elevation features, to the right of the centre, a recessed cart-entry beneath a hipped porch. There are two blocked doorways to the right, a stable door with a small window above to the far right, and at the left end, a wall which is set back, featuring a double door, a hatch on the right, and a hipped dormer with a small-pane casement window. The roof is hipped at the right end and half-hipped at the left end. The stable, projecting on the right, has a half-hipped roof; to the left side is a board door with a 2-pane window above, and to the right side a 6-pane window with a leaded over-light and small window.

The rear of the barn, opposite the cart entry, is under a hipped roof, showcasing a board door and hatch at the right end. The bricked-up left-hand bay has a segmental-arched doorway, a 2-light window, and a stack. Internally, the barn frame displays jowelled arcade posts arch-braced to tie-beams and arcade plates, alongside collared queen-post roof trusses with clasped purlins and curved wind braces, several old rafters, and a square-section ridge-piece on apex yokes. The wall framing features wide-spaced studs, a mid-rail, and long straight braces to the former end wall. There's evidence of former wattle and daub panels, or the reuse of timbers, in the bay to the left of the cart-entry. Arcade posts flanking the cart-entries have curved down-braces to brick plinths. A former timber threshing floor remains.

The corn mill section incorporates an animal wheel geared to shafts that drive machinery on an upper floor, which includes two sets of millstones and a hoist. The gearing and machinery are largely complete, with all wheels being wooden-toothed. The upper floor features wide floorboards, bins, and remains of a hopper. This represents a rare and remarkably complete example of an animal-driven corn mill in situ.