Harobeara Farmhouse

Harobeara Farmhouse

A farmhouse, now house, built probably in the 16th century with substantial additions and alterations in the mid-17th century (likely 1662-3), and further changes in the 19th and 20th centuries. The lower end was probably abandoned in the late 19th century and is now derelict. The building is constructed of slatestone rubble with granite dressings, with a slate roof featuring ridge tiles and gable ends.

Original Plan and Development

The building probably began as a two-room plan with a through passage. The hall occupied the left side, heated by an axial stack backing onto the passage. The lower end lay to the right, with a room heated from a gable-end stack. A second kitchen was added at the right end, with its own gable-end stack and oven, served by a cobbled kitchen yard to the rear. An unheated two-storey addition was attached to the right end of the kitchen, with external stone steps at the gable end providing access to the loft.

In the mid-17th century, a parlour wing of one room and two storeys was added to the front left of the hall, heated from an outer-side stack. At approximately the same time, a wall was built from the front of the lower end, creating a front courtyard with the parlour wing forming one side; a gateway was positioned in the front wall directly opposite the passage entrance. A stair tower was also added to the upper left end, probably in the mid-17th century. When the original lower end was abandoned, probably in the late 19th century, a lean-to kitchen was added to the inner side of the parlour wing. The passage has lost its roof, making the end wall of the hall now serve as the end wall of the house.

Exterior

The front presents two storeys with asymmetrical composition: the parlour wing projects to the left and the remnants of the lower end extend to the right. The passage doorway features a four-centred chamfered granite arch with pyramid stops; pintles remain from the original door and draw-bar sockets.

The wall to the lower end contains a three-light window at ground and first-floor levels, with the surround of a single light remaining at first-floor level. The main house displays a two-light chamfered granite window at first-floor level with hood mould. The parlour wing has a gable end to the front, with a four-light chamfered granite window at ground floor featuring a king mullion and hood mould; the first floor has a two-light chamfered granite casement without hood mould. A straight joint marks where the lean-to was added to the inner side of the wing. This single-storey lean-to contains three 20th-century windows and a four-panelled door, alongside a small single chamfered granite light reused from elsewhere in the house.

The Front Courtyard

The courtyard is cobbled and enclosed by rubble walls. The gateway is constructed in granite with a four-centred arch matching that of the passage. The right side of the hall, in rubble, contains a blocked doorway from the passage to the hall, featuring an ovolo-moulded and stopped frame. The left side of the parlour wing has an external stack, with 19th-century two-light windows at ground and first-floor levels featuring brick segmental heads.

The stair tower is attached to the left side of the hall with a gable end. Its gable contains two-light chamfered granite windows at ground and first-floor levels with hood moulds. A 20th-century porch with an inner segmental-arched chamfered granite doorway (with pyramid stops) and a 19th-century door has been added. The rear of the stair tower has a small single chamfered granite light at ground floor and a two-light chamfered granite window at first floor.

The left gable end of the hall has a four-light chamfered granite window with hood mould at ground floor (only the king mullion remains), a three-light chamfered granite window with hood mould at first floor, and a two-light chamfered granite window with hood mould at attic level. The rear of the hall has a three-light chamfered granite window with hood mould at ground floor and a two-light chamfered granite window at first floor.

The Lower End

A cobbled through passage runs through this section, with no rear doorway remaining. The interior of the ground-floor front window has iron stanchions. The wall continues with two keeping holes and possibly a rear window recess on the rear wall. A fireplace sits at the lower end of the room.

The second room in the lower end has a rear doorway (granite with segmental arch, chamfered, with bar and run-out stops) leading to the rear kitchen courtyard. A rebuilt two-light window stands beside the door, with a blocked window to the front. The stack serving this room is at the lower end, in granite with cornice and shaped top. The fireplace has a wide cambered and chamfered timber lintel with one granite jamb. The fireplace is partly bricked in, with a 19th-century cloam oven inserted to the right and a deep oven recess to the left with a partly blocked stone segmental arch over. An unheated two-storey addition at the end of this room conceals the external stack; stone steps at the gable end lead to the loft door.

Interior

The hall has a slate floor with 19th-century ceiling beams. The fireplace features granite jambs and chamfered lintel; it formerly had a dated plaster overmantel which has been removed. A granite hearth is present, with a recess to the side marking the position of the former doorway to the passage. Granite windows are chamfered internally.

The parlour wing also has 19th-century ceiling beams. Its inner wall, originally external, contains a single light with wooden frame and ogee head, originally unglazed. The fireplace has a four-centred arch inserted below a flat hollow-chamfered granite arch with pyramid stops.

The stair tower has a closet below the stairs with a keeping hole and studded door. A 19th-century winder stair formerly extended to attic level. At first-floor level, doorways to the chamber over the hall and chamber over the parlour wing both have wooden frames that are ovolo-moulded with run-out stops. The chamber over the parlour has a blocked fireplace and a four-bay roof with boxed feet to the principals. The chamber over the hall has a 20th-century rebuilt fireplace, also with boxed beams, and a three-bay roof. The roof structure is not accessible.