Ampney Sheephouse

The Ampney Sheephouse is a farmhouse, with origins in the 17th century and a later expansion in the late 18th century. It is constructed of rubble stone, with quoins marking the 18th-century wing, and has a stone slate roof. There are stone end stacks to the right and an external stack to the left of the later section, and brick end stacks to the original range.

The original 17th-century part is a long, single-story range with an attic, incorporating a cartshed to the left and a rear stable extension to the right. A two-story and attic wing was added in the 18th century to the right-hand side. The 17th-century range has two small gables, each with two-light stone mullioned windows and a square hoodmould with leaded lights. A small lean-to is present on the ground floor to the left, featuring a small gabled two-light casement. A timber lintel and plank door are on the right-hand return, and there’s an artificial stone slate canopy above a two-light stone mullion with a dripmould. The 18th-century wing has three windows, with three/two/three-light casements, timber lintels, and square stone hoodmoulds. Two gabled dormers are set into the eaves with paired casements. The ground floor features two large, paired six-pane casements, also with timber lintels and square hoodmoulds, flanking a recessed central six-panel door with the top two panels glazed and the rest flush. A gabled porch hood is supported by struts. A small lean-to is on the right-hand return, with a two-light casement. The cartshed to the left is open on the north side, with a corrugated iron roof, and divided internally by a stone wall.

The original 17th-century range extends to the rear of the 18th-century wing and turns to create an “L” shape, incorporating a small former agricultural building, likely a stable, with a flight of 12 stone steps leading to a gabled loft door with an entrance below a platform. There are scattered two-light windows and one dormer, some blocked, on the west face of this wing, along with a corner plank door. It is reputed that Ampney Sheephouse was once owned by Tewkesbury Abbey.