Upper Southmead Farmhouse and barn

Upper Southmead Farmhouse and Barn

A detached farmhouse of the late 16th or early to mid-17th century, with an associated threshing barn of the later 18th or early 19th century.

The house is constructed from local limestone rubble with dressed limestone quoins and Cotswold stone slates, with ashlar and brick stacks and limestone dressings. It is a linear range, single depth, rectangular on plan, with six unequal bays, a single storey and attic.

The principal elevation of the house has a central entrance doorway set slightly out of line with one of two gabled half-dormers. The windows are of stone mullioned construction, mainly with rectangular leaded glazing of one or two lights, some with hood moulds. At the left-hand gable end is a rebuilt brick stack, and to the centre is an ashlar stack, marking the end of the original three-bay house; a related break in the roofline is evident. The left bay has a two-light mullioned window. The next bay to the right has a two-light ground-floor window with hollow-chamfered mullion and a similar single light in the gable above, both with hood moulds. Wrought-iron cross-pattern patress plates are present to either side, indicating that the wall was historically tied in, probably in the 18th century. To the right is a two-light ground-floor window without a hood mould, converted from the original baffle-entry doorway. The present entrance bay follows, with the doorway set off-centre below an enlarged single light. To the right is a very small square light with metal casement, and at the far right an enlarged two-light window. The eastern gable end has enlarged window openings to ground and first floors, housing mid-20th century multi-paned casements. The western gable end is rendered and has a two-light mullioned window to the attic. The rear elevation has two windows to the ground floor of the original range, each with two rectangular-leaded casement windows. Above are patress plates corresponding with those in the main elevation, with large quoins at either end of the original range. To the left, the additional range has a gabled dormer matching that in the main elevation, with two timber casements under timber and stone lintels to the ground floor. A tall brick stack rises from the eaves in the left-hand bay.

The earlier range of the house is two-roomed with a fireplace at either end. The original entrance was a baffle entry onto the side of the large inglenook at the eastern end, leading to the larger room. The fireplace is wide with monolithic limestone uprights chamfered with stepped scrolled stops; the timber bressumer is similarly chamfered. Recesses are set to the left and rear, the rear one smaller and possibly originally a spice cupboard. To the left of the fireplace are cupboard doors to the opening which formerly housed a winder stair. A single chamfered transverse beam with stepped and scrolled stops runs across the room. The adjacent room has a later axial beam and mid-20th century stone fire surround. The present entrance doorway gives access to the later range. The porch has a flagged stone floor, topped with a timber floor that extends into the hall beyond. The hall houses the present stair, which turns through 90 degrees against the rear wall, probably added in the 20th century to replace the earlier winder stair; the balustrade is mid-20th century. The hall has a large cupboard forming a baffle and a later partition creating a bathroom. The second room in the range is set up a short flight of steps and has later partitions, one creating a large cupboard likely formerly used as a dairy, as a stack rises from this area with a small ventilator towards the top of the wall.

The stair rises to a landing, off which is a bathroom to the front of the house. The other room in the later range has a hatch to the lower floor, probably dating from its use for livestock. The roof has narrow scantling and single trenched purlins meeting the A-framed trusses, ceiled above collar level. There are two rooms in the earlier range, the second reached through a late 16th or 17th century plank door with applied fillets. Window openings are splayed. The roof carpentry to this range is much more substantial, with pegged A-frame trusses and two rows of purlins, the lower of which are trenched and chamfered while the upper tier are threaded. The roof is ceiled above collar height, though the mid-truss was always closed and retains its common rafters, with later rafters added alongside for strengthening.

To the east of the house stand the main farm buildings, principally the threshing barn. The barn dates from the later 18th or early 19th century and is a high single storey with a large projecting porch to the north side. It is built from limestone rubble brought to course, with stone slates to one roof slope and clay pantiles to the rear and porch. The west end has a taking-in door in the gable end. The south elevation has a wide opening to the centre, and the rear has a deep porch with double doors. The interior is open to the roof in the central section, with either end divided horizontally. The barn appears to retain all its historic roof structure comprising trusses of tie beam and principal rafters with threaded purlins. The barn has a number of later lean-to and linear extensions dating from the 20th century, which are not included.