Damage Barton

Damage Barton is a farmhouse with a complex history, dating back to the 16th century or earlier. It was altered and extended in the 17th century, likely around 1656, and subsequently modified. The building is constructed of local rubble slate, rendered, with a Welsh slate roof.

The plan comprises four units – three rooms in series and a cross wing. One room and the wing are under a lower roof line, likely representing the original hall and a higher-end wing which was a separate build. A through passage is located within the lower section, which was raised in the 17th century when the fourth unit was added.

The front elevation, now facing the main farm buildings to the north, has irregular window placement. A passage entrance features a wide doorway in an early surround and a porch with Tuscan columns. To the left is a four-light window, above which are two three-light windows with stone mullions and surrounds featuring ovolo mouldings. An added room to the extreme left slightly projects beneath a catslide roof and has a quarter-glazed door under a penticed hood, a two-light window to the left, and a three-light window to the first floor. The section under the lower roof line contains a gabled dormer with a Yorkshire sliding sash window. A projection to the right, together with a wing featuring a shallow external end stack, also have Yorkshire sliding sash windows.

The rear elevation exhibits two large stacks: one internal with set-offs to the east, and another external with a penticed extension and outbuilding at its base. A rear passage doorway has a pegged and moulded surround. To the right is a three-light window with ovolo-moulded stone mullions and surround. Various later lean-to additions are present.

Internally, the passage is paved with flagstones and divided from the adjoining rooms by internal stone walls, featuring ledge doors. The room to the west, possibly the former hall, has ceiling beams with large ovolo or quadrant moulded chamfers and run-out stops. The wing contains a timber newel stair. Other rooms have roughly chamfered ceiling beams. A panelled door, within an ovolo-moulded surround with high-set stops, connects two rooms on the east side of the main range. The upper floor displays traces of plaster cornice work. There’s a significant difference in floor level between the right-hand rooms of the main range.