Penstone Barton Farmhouse

This is a large farmhouse, likely dating to the 16th century, with significant alterations in the 17th, early 18th, and 19th centuries. It is constructed of plastered cob on rubble footings, with stone rubble and cob stacks topped with 19th and 20th-century brickwork, and has a thatched roof. The building is arranged around a courtyard.

The main block, facing south-east, originally had a 3-room-and-through-passage plan with an inner room at the north-eastern end. The inner room has a projecting end stack, while the hall and service rooms have rear lateral stacks. An axial stack above the passage serves the first-floor chambers. A 19th-century staircase is now situated in the passage, while an early 18th-century staircase is located within a turret projecting to the rear of the hall. Rear service blocks at right angles are attached to each end, and a 17th-century cider store with former accommodation above encloses the rear of the courtyard. A cob stack projects from the end of the inner room.

The front of the house has an asymmetrical but regular six-window facade. The front passage door, situated left of centre, has a 19th-century four-panel door with panelled reveals and a soffit-panelled hood on shaped brackets (now with a corrugated iron roof). A secondary 20th-century door provides access to the inner room, sheltered by a contemporary monopitch-roofed porch. The hall and inner room have 16-pane sash windows. The service room and first-floor chambers have 19th-century casements with glazing bars.

Inside the main block, elements from various periods are visible. All the main crosswalls are constructed of cob. The passage contains a 19th-century geometric staircase with an open string, a mahogany handrail, turned newels, and hockey stick balusters. A blocked fireplace in the service end room reveals an early 17th-century crossbeam with a soffit-chamfer and late stop chamfers, along with a matching contemporary oak doorframe to the passage. The hall features unusual ornamental plasterwork, commemorating a wedding in 1737; this consists of plain hand-run ribs forming a heart motif containing five letters and the date. The fireplace here is blocked. An early 17th-century oak doorframe with ovolo-moulded and scroll-stopped surrounds leads from the hall to the inner room. The stair turret contains a good early 18th-century dogleg staircase with a crudely closed string and turned balusters, with a contemporary two-panel door concealing a cupboard beneath the stairs. A small section of the roof over the hall, showing truss feet, may be either 16th-century arch brace or 18th-century principal rafters. Many original features are likely hidden behind later plaster. Modernisation has been limited since the 19th century. The rear storage block has a first-floor 17th-century oak three-light window with chamfered mullions, and a gable-ended roof.