Threshing Barns And Stables At Southbury Farm

Pair of threshing barns to the west of the farmhouse and stables to the east, dating from the mid to late 18th century with later alterations.

The barns are constructed of coursed limestone rubble with ashlar quoins and timber barn door lintels. The south barn has ashlar eaves and flat gable coping. The right half of its roof is slightly lower and covered with Welsh slate tiles, while the left half is plain tiled. The stables are also built of coursed limestone rubble with ashlar quoins and dressings, with a stone slate roof.

Both barns are rectangular in plan with porched openings to their west elevation. The south barn has an opposing opening to the east elevation. The stables are rectangular in plan facing west, comprising a two-storey cartshed and store at the north end and single-storey double pile stabling to the south.

The front elevation of the barns is dominated by two full-height gabled porches, both with timber lintels and ashlar quoins. The north gable end has a taking-in door at first floor level and a ground floor door to the left. The rear east elevation of the northern barn features a catslide roof and a single-storey range running west from the north end. The southern barn has an opposing doorway with timber lintel, now infilled with concrete blocks. A single owl hole is set at the apex of the south elevation.

The stable range comprises three bays of single-storey stabling with stable doors and single-light windows. The gable end has a single-light window with paired owl holes and ledges above. The two-storey range has eight irregular bays. The right end has a segmental arched doorway with chamfered surround flanked by single-light windows with ovolo-moulded stone jambs; these jambs have been reused from elsewhere and are not mitred to the inner top corners. The left end has five open bays with ashlar quoins and timber lintels. The north gable end is skewed.

Internally, the south barn roof is formed of paired principal rafters with tie beam and double purlins. The north barn has an inserted floor and collared truss with double tenoned purlins. The cartshed and stables have brick flooring with roofs formed of collared principal rafters and double staggered purlins.

The threshing barns date from the mid to late 18th century. The 1840 Tithe Map depicts the barns standing at the western side of a yard with ranges to the south and north running from either end, as well as a further range to the east of the house. Southbury Farm was incorporated into the Colesbourne Estate during the 19th century, and by the late 19th century the complex had been extended so that the yard was bounded to the east with further ranges running south and west from the barns. These additions are shown on the Ordnance Survey 1st Edition map of 1884.