Barn About 20 Metres North Of South Halstow Farmhouse

This is a barn located about 20 meters north of South Halstow Farmhouse, dating from around the mid-19th century. It is constructed of whitewashed rendered cob on a stone rubble plinth, with a slate roof that is hipped at the left end and gabled at the right end. South Halstow has a long history of commercial cider production, and this barn appears to have been specifically built as a cider house, featuring a granary at the left end.

Inside, there is a cider press room to the right and a large cider cellar in the center. The width of the building was determined by the dimensions of three port pipes that were originally used for storing cider. The barn has two storeys, with stone steps against the front wall leading to a loft entrance. There is a doorway into the cider store in the center and a second doorway on the right that leads into the cider press room.

Notably, the right side of the building contains a remarkable granite apple crusher, which is no longer in use but is said to be contemporary with the barn. This crusher consists of two large, sharply cut granite blocks bolted together, with the lower block curved to form a trough and the upper block featuring two finely dressed granite rollers of different sizes. An early 20th-century hydraulic cider press is still in use. The Gray family has been producing cider at South Halstow since at least the late 18th century, making this barn an important structure related to the Devon cider industry.