Four Ranges Of Farmbuildings At Home Farm

Four Ranges of Farmbuildings at Home Farm

This is a double courtyard farmyard forming part of the Home Farm estate at Mamhead House. The complex comprises four ranges of stone rubble buildings with brick dressings and slate roofs, dating from before 1839 except for the extreme west range which is probably mid-19th century. One range has been partly converted to housing. The westernmost range has a monopitch roof of corrugated asbestos.

Layout and Original Functions

The main farmyard is arranged in a U-plan formed by three ranges: west, east and south, with the farmhouse occupying the fourth side to the north. A fourth range, parallel to the west range, creates a second yard to the west. The buildings were formerly powered by an overshot water wheel and housed machinery including a cider press, saw, thresher, winnower and mill stones, though these have since disappeared and their precise original functions are difficult to determine.

East Range

The east range presents an impressively tall elevation to the road with no ground floor doorways. This side features eight ventilation slits with grey limestone architraves on the left, two two-light windows above with grey limestone architraves and keyblocks, and three original loft windows to the right with grey limestone architraves. A fourth window and four ground floor windows are modern copies from the conversion, with concrete architraves. On the yard-facing side, the range has an external stair, a first floor doorway and three windows with two ground floor windows on the left (the converted section), with small pane timber casements in original embrasures. The right end, still in agricultural use, has a loft door and three loft windows. Four small doorways (one blocked) and two large doorways with segmental arches and double doors are located at the right end.

South Range

The south range, facing the farmhouse, has a flight of external granite steps at the right end leading to a loft door. It contains six loft windows and two loft loading doors. Two large ground floor entrances were made in the 20th century, but two original windows and three round-headed doorways remain intact. The rear elevation displays three loft windows, ventilation slits below, and is gabled at the right end (end of east range) with a large doorway featuring a segmental arched head.

West Range

The west range has a two-span roof and is double depth with a crosswing at the north end. On the east side facing the main yard, it features ten round-headed doorways (the outer doorways narrower) and a complete set of two-light loft windows, some retaining diamond leaded panes. The crosswing end to the right has a 20th-century garage door below a window. The west elevation facing the second yard was originally an open-fronted lofted linhay with a full height opening at the right end. Eight linhay bays to the left have timber posts, with ground floor bays largely filled in with weatherboarding. The crosswing end to the left has a loft door.

Fourth Range

The extreme west range has an asbestos monopitch roof. The two left-hand bays of the east elevation have two large doors below weatherboarding to the loft, with six ground floor doorways to the right and a loft window and two loft loading doors above. A large loft doorway is located to the right. This range is built into the slope of the land with rear access to the loft. The rear (west) elevation has one large loft door, two loft windows and a door at the right.

The buildings form an impressive group preserving most of their original openings.