Barn And Horse Engine House Immediately To The South West Of Leigh Barton

SX 37 NE 9/209

MILTON ABBOT Barn and horse engine house immediately to the south west of Leigh Barton

GV II

Barn and adjoining horse engine house. Circa late C16/early C17 barn, re-roofed in the C19. Horse engine house probably mid C19, contemporary with the remodelling of Leigh Barton (qv). Stone rubble barn with slate roof gabled at ends, stone rubble horse engine house with pyramidal slate roof. The barn has 2 opposed massive gabled porches with entrances under flat stone arches and is floored on the right-hand end only. The masonry retains its putlock holes on the front elevation. The porch gables and upper courses of masonry appear to be rebuilt. A hexagonal horse engine house adjoins the barn at the front on the right and has 4 rectangular entrances with stone rubble piers between and wide slit windows under the eaves. Interior The roof of the barn has been replaced with C19 king post and strut trusses and there is no visible evidence of the form of the pre C19 roof except for in the porches: each retains 1 truss with principals with curved feet, a cambered collar and mortises for 2-tiers of threaded purlins. A massive chamfered stopped beam between the inner walls of each porch appears to have replaced a stone arch of some kind of which the stubs remain. The barn was incorporated into a Bedford Estate planned farmyard (qv) of the circa mid C19 built to the south west of Leigh Barton which may have been one of the original endowments to Tavistock Abbey.

Listing NGR: SX3950477297