Harford Barton (Includes Adjoining Outbuildings To North)

Harford Barton

A barton (farmhouse with associated agricultural buildings) of early 17th-century date with late 17th-century additions. The structure is built of painted rendered stone and cob with a slate roof, featuring gable ends with brick chimney shafts and stone rubble stacks, hipped at the left end. A corrugated asbestos roof covers a rear right-angled projection.

The front elevation displays a lateral hall stack with an offset, tall brick shaft and a projecting bread oven with slate canopy. The main range follows a 3-cell through-passage plan and measures 4 windows across, arranged as a 2-storey façade. The windows are 19th-century casements: two 2-lights to the left of the lateral stack and two 3-light casements on each floor to the right, all with 6-panes per light. A 2-light casement stands to the left of the through-passage doorway, which is fitted with a plank door.

Two 17th-century right-angled gabled projections extend to the rear, creating a 3-sided courtyard plan. The fourth side is enclosed by a length of cob wall with pantiled capping, bordering the cobbled courtyard.

The rear right-angled projection on the right side is lofted, with a plank door reached by external slate slab steps to its gable end. The upper storey contains a 17th-century timber cavetto mullion window of 3 lights on the inner face of the courtyard. Part of the upper storey serves as dwelling space; the remainder functions as a storage loft above a coal store.

The projection to the rear left side has external steps leading to an old 4-plank door at the gable end. It features a 3-light timber ovolo mullion window on its outer face above a square opening, and a small opening with chamfered timber surround to the left. A pantiled lean-to on the inner courtyard side encloses a 3-light chamfered mullion window with timber grilles dividing each light; the whole is later covered on the outer side by lath and plaster. Adjacent to this, a 17th-century doorway with straight head and chamfered surround features jambs hollowed out to admit cider-barrels.

This rear wing originally had a collar rafter roof with side-pegged collars, though some couples have been removed. It is only partially lofted as an apple store, with the open section at the main range end housing a fine massive cider press with timber threaded screw.

A small 2-light timber mullion window with chamfered surround occupies a stair turret to the rear of the main range, positioned to the right of a rear through-passage doorway of 3 planks.

Interior

The interior has undergone little alteration since the 19th century, retaining many 17th-century features. The majority of doorways survive with scroll-stopped chamfered surrounds and old doors to all upper storey rooms.

The hall preserves an original settle at the dais end, with integral oak panelled back comprising 2 panels high with fluted top rail. The ceilings originally featured ornamental plasterwork decoration, of which moulded cornices survive above the beam end above the settle. Two plasterwork panels remain: that to the left is a lozenge with floriated centre; that to the right is an enlarged circular representation of a flower head. Elaborate striated design appears above the scroll-stop to the staircase doorway at the rear of the hall.

A 17th-century winder staircase with balusters survives to the upper flight, complete with bar stops to the chamfered sides.

The principal chamber over the hall displays moulded plasterwork cornices with 3 plant designs above at each end. An adjoining chamber retains a foliated plasterwork cluster to the reverse of its lower wall.

Two probably 17th-century roof trusses with straight principals and formerly trenched purlins survive, with 20th-century roof structure superimposed. The inner room contains moulded plasterwork cornices in 2 large fields with a central dividing beam.