Barn About 30M South West Of Lower Kingsett Farmhouse

A barn, originally a farmhouse, dating to the early 16th century, stands approximately 30 metres south west of Lower Kingsett Farmhouse. Constructed of granite rubble with granite dressings and slate and asbestos slate roofs, the building has undergone later additions and alterations.

The original layout seems to have been a cross passage. Evidence suggests a hall to the left, with a stack backing onto the passage and a shippon (animal shelter) to the right. A room, likely heated by a stack, was situated at the former gable end, next to a newel stair. A porch at the front of the passage is believed to be original. The farmhouse was extended to the right and left in the 19th and 20th centuries to create animal shelter space. A lean-to at the front, likely dating to the late 17th century, may have been used as a service room before the farmhouse was abandoned later in the 17th century. Despite considerable rebuilding, the core of a high-quality early farmhouse remains.

The two-storey barn features a single-storey porch with a pitched roof. The porch has a broad three-centred arched opening in granite, with a narrower four-centred arched inner doorway and stone benches to the sides. The porch bay is slightly forward of the main range, with a four-pane light at the first floor. To the left, the upper end has a ground floor opening and two upper openings (now used as a cattle shed). Further along, an end bay is roofless, with former window openings on both ground and first floors. To the right of the porch, a single-storey lean-to is attached, featuring a door and a corrugated iron roof, likely from the late 17th century. A further lean-to extends the pitch of the main roof at the end. The right return was rebuilt in the 20th century using concrete blocks. The left return previously had a hipped roof over the end bay, with an external granite stair leading to an upper loading door in the gable end.

On the rear elevation, the lower end to the left has a chamfered granite ventilator opening, an upper loading door, and a door with a timber lintel. A former opening with a timber lintel is located to the left, and a single light has been inserted. The roof is higher over the original hall, with a stepped external stack. A door with a timber lintel is situated to the right, alongside a large granite lintel over a former door opening and a later inserted upper opening under the eaves. The wall steps back to the right, featuring rows of pigeonholes and a single light with a granite lintel at ground floor level. This wall was rebuilt at the upper end.

The interior passage has a wall in granite ashlar. A four-centred arched, hollow-chamfered granite doorway leads to the hall, with a corbel to the right. The hall fireplace has a flat-headed, hollow-chamfered granite lintel. The room to the right of the passage has two heavy chamfered cross beams, a fireplace with a wide chamfered lintel, an oven to the rear right, and a doorway to the left of the fireplace providing access to the later addition to the lower end. A granite newel stair is located to the right; the wall between the room and passage was likely inserted. A further front doorway between the lean-to and service room indicates probable 17th-century additional service room use. The late 17th-century farmhouse at Higher Kingsett (also abandoned), the 19th-century farmhouse at Lower Kingsett, and a 20th-century house are not included in the listing.