Hill Farm Barn

This is a mid-to-late 18th-century aisled barn, with 19th and 20th-century alterations. A single-storey, 20th-century addition to the north side is not of special interest.

Externally, the barn is a timber-framed structure resting on a local sandstone plinth, and topped with a hipped tiled roof. The barn features aisles to the south and west, with a large opening to the north. The plinth is buttressed on its southern side and is partially rendered here, with some areas showing galleted mortar. Brick walls rise above the plinth on the north and east sides, with the east side being weather-boarded.

Inside, the barn has a five-bay queen post roof with trenched purlins. The easternmost truss is different, featuring diagonal struts instead of a queen post and no collar. Numerous original carpenter's marks are visible on the principal structural members. Timber posts with diagonal struts – some resting on original plinths, others on concrete – define the aisles; those at the western end have jowls, suggesting an 18th-century construction date for the barn. Curved braces are present in the north wall. Two extensions to the north of the barn date to the mid-19th century (the westernmost) and the 1960s (the easternmost); a lightweight 20th-century shelter abuts the barn to the south. Many rafters likely date to the mid-19th century, coinciding with the earlier extension, and the tile roof covering appears to be from the interwar period. The barn floor is concrete and of late 20th-century construction.

The barn, which is part of the Hill Farm complex alongside the Grade II listed 17th-century farmhouse, appears on Ordnance Survey drawings from 1806-7, confirming its 18th-century origin. A range abutting the north side, at the barn’s western end, is likely a mid-19th-century extension, evidenced by an unbroken plinth of the main barn. This extension likely housed machinery as agricultural practices became more mechanised in the 19th century. Later modifications include a mid-20th-century single-storey extension to the north.

The barn is designated at Grade II because it is a mid-to-late 18th-century aisled barn retaining significant elements of its timber frame. The 19th-century brickwork reflects changes in agricultural practice due to mechanisation and is of good quality. The barn has group value with the nearby Grade II listed 17th-century farmhouse, with which it was originally built.