Range Of Bank Barns Approximately 1.5 Metres West Of Lower Jurston Farmhouse

This is a range of bank barns located approximately 1.5 meters west of Lower Jurston Farmhouse, likely built in the late 18th to early 19th century. The barns are constructed from granite stone rubble and feature slate roofs. The layout consists of three adjoining bank barns that are terraced into the hillside and face the farmyard to the east-north-east. Below the threshing barns are cow byres and a series of possibly unique chambers believed to be turnip stores.

The left (southern) barn has two large segmental-headed arches leading to the cow byres, with a central loading hatch doorway above. The symmetry of this barn is disrupted by a window at the right end of the byres and a vent above the barn. The right (northern) barn features four similar segmental-headed arches for the byres, with two arches on each side of a flight of stone steps leading up to a central loading hatch doorway. Both barn blocks have gable ends. The connecting block has a doorway on the right, which has been reduced in size, and a first-floor window. At the rear, the end barns have central full-height double doors flanked by short midstrey walls.

All joinery is plain, with plank doors, most of which are split into flaps, and unglazed windows. The interiors display plain carpentry details, including roughly finished and relatively close-set crossbeams and A-frame roof trusses with spiked and pegged lap-jointed collars. The left southern barn contains the storage chambers. Behind the cow byres, there is a doorway at each end leading into barrel-vaulted chambers along the back of the byre, with a second pair of chambers behind these. These chambers have hatches in their roofs for loading from the yard above. Due to their damp conditions, they are unsuitable for most storage uses, but since they are connected to the byres, they likely stored winter cattle feed, with turnips being the most probable. These chambers are a unique feature of the barns.