Barn And Linhays Approximately 10M West Of Lower Wotton Farmhouse

A barn, byre, and linhays dating to the 16th and 17th centuries, with the linhays given new roof structures in the 19th century. The buildings are constructed of cob on rubble footings, occasionally patched with 20th-century brick, and have corrugated iron roofs. They form an L-shaped range.

The main range faces south-east and includes a 16th-century barn with a byre and hayloft added to the right, and further extended to the north-east by a 17th-century linhay. Another 17th-century linhay is set at a right angle to the left (south-west) end of the barn, facing north-east onto the farmyard.

The barn retains its original oak shoulder-headed central front door, which has an ancient plank door hung on strap hinges, one with a fleur-de-lys final. A rear doorway, partly rebuilt with brick, has an oak frame with a chamfered surround, possibly original. Narrow ventilators are present in both gable ends, some with square-section oak frames. There is a loading hatch to the right on the front. The barn’s 3-bay roof contains a 16th-century side-pegged jointed cruck truss on the left and a 17th-century replacement A-frame truss with pegged dovetail lap-jointed collar to the right; the front principal of the later truss is set on a post buried in the wall face. The byre alongside has a ground-floor doorway and a first-floor loading hatch. Its roof timbers were replaced in the 19th century. The linhay adjoining the byre is an unusual double-fronted design with an axial cob wall separating front and back stalls, rising only to first-floor level, leaving the tallet open. It is 4 bays and features full-height posts of large scantling, with crossbeams tusk-tenoned to the posts. Its roof trusses are 19th-century A-frame replacements with lap-jointed collars secured with iron nails and wooden pegs. The single-fronted linhay on the front of the barn is of similar construction, with timbers of large scantling, and is 6 bays. Its roof was replaced earlier in the 19th century with pegged tie-and-collar-beam trusses. Both linhay roofs are hipped at the ends.