Barn And Bakehouse Approximately 6 Metres South-East Of Ensworthy

A barn and bakehouse dating from the early to mid-17th century, situated approximately 6 metres south-east of Ensworthy. The building is constructed from granite stone rubble, incorporating roughly-squared blocks laid in a rough course, with large boulder footings and dressed quoins; the roof is now corrugated iron, but was formerly thatched. The barn is oriented south-east, built down the hillslope, and includes a threshing barn to the right with large, almost full-height doorways onto the threshing floor, and open to the roof. Attached to the uphill left end is a single-room plan bakehouse, originally two storeys, now with a collapsed upper floor.

The bakehouse front has two window openings, with one first-floor opening enlarged to form a hay loading hatch. A plain, solid frame doorway to the right of the ground-floor window contains an old plank door. A sloping buttress marks the division between the bakehouse and barn. The barn’s large doorway appears to have been raised, as the monolithic granite jambs are not quite full height. A row of pigeon holes is located high in the wall at the right end. The roof is gable-ended, and the right gable-end wall features a hayloft loading hatch and ventilation slits.

The bakehouse fireplace is constructed of granite, with a soffit-chamfered and step-stopped oak lintel, incorporating a massive granite oven and the remains of a newel stair. A soffit-chamfered and step-stopped half beam survives against the end wall of the collapsed first floor. A blind rubble crosswall separates the barn and bakehouse. The bakehouse has a two-bay A-frame roof with pegged lap-jointed collars, while the barn has five bays with the same roof structure. The bakehouse fireplace lintel has soffit-chamfered and step-stopped oak lintel. The rare combination of a bakehouse and threshing barn makes this building of considerable interest to those studying vernacular architecture.