Barn Owl Inn

The Barn Owl Inn, originally a farmhouse, dates to the 17th century with later additions in the late 17th, 18th, and 19th/20th centuries, and has undergone substantial alteration in the 20th century. The construction is of rendered rubble and cob walls, with an asbestos slate roof that is gabled to the left and to the rear wing, and half-hipped to the right. Rendered brick stacks are located at the left-hand gable end and axially to the left of centre. There are also rear lateral rendered rubble stacks and a projecting gable end stack to the rear wing, both with brick shafts.

The original layout consisted of three rooms and a through passage, with the hall heated by a rear lateral stack and the lower room (to the left) by a gable end stack. A room was added to the lower end in the late 17th century, and it is likely that at this time the front wall of the hall, passage, and lower room was extended. A heated wing was probably added in the 18th century at the rear of the lower room. 19th and 20th-century outshuts are located at the rear of the hall and inner room. The internal layout was significantly altered in the late 20th century when the building was converted into an inn, resulting in the removal of the passage and the partition between the hall and inner room.

The building has an asymmetrical six-window front. The original block is to the right, with the right-hand end recessed. A taller block from the late 17th century is to the left, and this section’s roof may have been raised. This left-hand block has a two-window front with 20th-century three-light casements with glazing bars, and a slight projection between the windows. The main section has two-light 20th-century casements on the first floor, and a single-light window at the far right. The ground floor has a three- and four-light design, with the left-hand ground floor window featuring a 20th-century reproduction hoodmould. A part-glazed 20th-century door is situated to the left of centre.

Inside, the hall fireplace has an ovolo-moulded wooden lintel with hollow step stops. There are chamfered cross beams with run-out stops. The left-hand room, which is an addition, boasts a high-quality late 17th-century two-panel plaster ceiling. Each panel features a central oval wreath of bay leaves with a stylised flower at the centre, and thin-ribbed panels at each corner, along with a coved cornice of acanthus leaves. This room was reportedly originally panelled. The primary architectural interest of the building lies in the good-quality late 17th-century plaster ceiling, which is somewhat concealed by the altered exterior.