Old Venn Farmhouse

Old Venn Farmhouse is likely of late 16th-century origin, with significant alterations in the mid-17th century, including the addition of a front wing, and further changes in the 19th century. It's currently abandoned and used for animal shelter. The building is constructed of granite and slate rubble, with granite dressings, some 19th-century replacements, and a slate roof. The rendered front wing sits atop rubble walls. Originally a rectangular plan, the farmhouse appears to have lacked solid wall partitions between the upper and lower ends. The upper end is on the right, with a shippon (animal shelter) to the left, and a stair tower positioned prominently to the front, on the higher right side of the entrance passage.

Around the mid to late 17th century, a two-storey, one-room plan front wing was added, enclosing the original passage doorway. This wing was originally heated by a stack located to the right side, although no fireplace remains in the original main range. 19th-century alterations include a door to the front of the shippon, a rear shippon door providing access to a rear outshut, and a further addition to the rear of the upper end. The front of the shippon features 19th-century windows and a door, both with brick cambered heads, along with an upper leading door and a blocked door with a timber lintel.

The two-storey front wing has a door and a first-floor window on the left side, and a ground-floor and first-floor window in the front gable, all with segmental heads – glazing has been removed. A buttress is present on the right side of the wing. The wing was built around the stair tower, which has a single hollow-chamfered granite light at first-floor level, featuring an iron stanchion, and the main roof extends over the tower. A wall extending from ground level to eaves has been removed from the front of the upper end. The right gable end has a two-light window opening with a timber lintel at first floor, and a ground-floor window opening with a granite surround partially remaining, alongside a 20th-century single-storey addition. The left gable end is notable for its large quoins, a centrally rebuilt bay broken forward, and a lack of visible drain.

The rear of the shippon has a 17th-century single-storey outshut with an open end, rendered to the rear. A winding wheel is positioned above a 19th-century window to the left, behind the shippon. The rear of the upper end features an external stair leading to a 19th-century door with a small gable over, a two-light hollow-chamfered granite window at ground floor, and a further 19th-century rear outshut, now roofless.

Internally, the shippon has 19th-century flooring, and some chamfered beams remain on the ground floor of the upper end. A blocked ventilation hole is present in the gable end wall of the shippon. The upper end contains a low recess in the gable end wall and two keeping holes. A granite rubble newel stair is within the stair tower. The house may have originally featured a cross passage without a rear doorway, with the rear door from the lower end formed for access to the outshut, and the front shippon door constructed at the time of the front wing’s construction.