Farm Building Complex Immediately West And North-West Of Downes Home Farmhouse

This is a complex of farm buildings, likely dating from circa 1850-60, situated immediately west and north-west of Downes Home Farmhouse. The buildings are arranged in two uneven, L-shaped blocks set back to back, enclosing a large covered yard.

The approach from the south-east is marked by a linhay with a forge located behind to the left (south-west), and stables and cowsheds with haylofts above to the right (north-east). To the left of the yard, a large shippon, with a workshop positioned above, extends south-westwards at right angles. To the right, granaries and a barn extend north-eastwards, also at right angles.

The gable-ended, five-bay Alcock’s Type T1 linhay features a series of ventilators at first-floor level; these windows have been blocked but retain gaps between stretcher bricks. A single-storey, gable-ended building adjacent to the rear of the linhay still contains the forge and some machinery. Above the shippon, the five-bay workshop has continuous window ranges along its long sides and a fireplace in the southern corner. The shippon may have originally served as another workshop.

The large covered yard has a high, wide, six-bay mansard roof with elaborate king post trusses held in place by bolted joints, resting on brick corbels in the side walls. A three-bay arcade of large, circular-section granite piers provides access to the shippon on the left side, while the rear wall contains a blind three-bay arcade. On the opposite side, an eleven-bay block houses granaries and a large barn with a threshing floor. Facing south-east toward the approach to the yard are cowstalls with haylofts over, originally featuring two doorways each with a window to the left on each floor, now under an unevenly pitched 20th-century roof that replaced a double-gabled front. Bullseye windows with iron bars overlook the entrance to the yard. Stables with haylofts are situated a short distance to the southeast, facing the cowstalls. A central door with a loading bay above originally had a single window on each side, but four small 20th-century windows have been inserted on the ground floor. This block also possesses bullseye windows on the northeast end. All original openings are topped with segmental brick arches, and all roofs feature king post trusses. The complex represents a well-preserved example of a planned 19th-century estate farmyard.