Stables, North East Of Taynton House And Wall And Wall And Gates Connecting To House

This is a late 17th or early 18th century former oxhouse, now stables, situated north-east of Taynton House, together with a connecting wall and gates. It is constructed of irregular English bond brickwork with stone slates. The building is a seven-bay range and features clasping corner pilaster buttresses, a bullnose plinth, and a plain string course at first-floor level, with openings generally defined by elliptical brick arches.

The facade facing the yard includes a blocked opening, two slit air vents, a boarded door with glazed upper half, three slit air vents, a blocked doorway, and double boarded doors leading to a coach house, beneath a timber lintel and brick arch. Further features include a 2-light mullion and transom window with flanking slit air vents, a later boarded door, a 2-light mullion and transom window, and a blocked door. The first floor has six slit air vents on the left, a 3-light casement window in the centre flanked by pilaster buttresses, and a gabled section with a stone ball finial to the apex. To the right of the centre are three slit air vents and two 2-light mullion and transom windows. The right return wall has three blocked ground floor windows, three blind first-floor windows, a plain string course, two blocked windows above and one blind window in the apex. A ball finial is missing from this end. The rear wall is subdivided into five sections by pilaster buttresses.

A yard wall on the right is topped with plain stone coping that sweeps down to a gate pier; this pier is square with stone hinge blocks and weathered stone coping. The double wooden gates have four rails, bracing only to the second rail from the bottom, double splats to the bottom section, and single splats to the top section, culminating in a shaped top rail. The wall ascends in four sections to a corner where it returns to the house, with square brick piers to which the top of the wall sweeps upwards on one side.

Inside, the central coach house is plastered, with a later fireplace to the rear and wooden stairs leading to a separate plastered room above. Partitions on the left side of the building likely represent early alterations, with a section of loft floor now missing. The roof features collar and tie-beam trusses with angle struts, two pairs of purlins, and no ridge. The building is considered an unusual survival, representing a relatively early construction of significant size originally used for cattle and possibly ploughing. It forms part of a historically important group with a contemporary barn, cider house, and farmhouse.