Range Of Farmbuildings Approximately 7 Metres North-West Of Langston Farmhouse (North)

Range of farmbuildings approximately 7 metres north-west of Langston Farmhouse (north)

This is a long range of continuous farmbuildings of varied agricultural function, facing the back of Langston Farmhouse to the south-east and built down a hillslope. The buildings date from the late 16th century to the 19th century, with construction in granite ashlar (in the oldest sections), granite stone rubble with large roughly-shaped quoins, and some cob. Roofing includes slate on the apple store and corrugated iron on the remainder (formerly thatch).

At the left end stands what appears to be a late 17th-century to early 18th-century 3-bay linhay, converted to a hen house in the late 19th century. The central bay now serves as the entrance, flanked by monolithic granite posts supporting the crossbeams. The roof is 19th century, probably lower than the original. The outer bays are filled with granite rubble and cob. A 19th-century apple store projects forward at right angles from the left end.

A 4-bay loft adjoins the henhouse, with an open front and rubble ground floor featuring a doorway at the left end. The carpentry and joinery are 19th-century work.

Adjacent to the henhouse is a threshing barn with massive nearly ashlar masonry suggesting an early date. It contains opposing doorways to the threshing floor, positioned a little right of centre, and has a hayloft loading hatch towards the left front end. Remains of a 19th-century horse engine house survive to the rear, its structure carried on a series of granite orthostats. The barn roof is a late 17th-century or 18th-century replacement, with A-frame trusses featuring pegged lap-jointed collars. The roof line continues from the former linhay and is gable-ended.

A pair of late 18th-century to early 19th-century pigsties has been built against the front wall right of the doorway, each with a low front door and feeding hatch to the right.

Below the barn at the downhill right is a shippon, dating from the late 16th to early 17th century and partly rebuilt in the late 18th to early 19th century. The main shippon is set back a short distance from the barn front. Despite 20th-century modernisation, it retains a drain, tethering posts, narrow slit windows in the side walls, and a dung hatch in the end wall. In the late 18th to early 19th century, a 2-bay lean-to cart shed was built onto the right end, its front now filled. The shippon was re-roofed at the same time, with the roof carried down to shelter the shippon entrance between the cart shed and pigsties. The hayloft space above this section was knocked out for loading. The shippon features plain carpentry detail and still includes two true cruck principals in situ at the front. The roof was, however, basically rebuilt in the late 18th to early 19th century with A-frame trusses featuring pegged and spiked lap-jointed collars. In the front shelter section, the front principals are of enormous length, extending from the apex to the base of the shelter roof.

This range of varied farmbuildings forms part of a picturesque group of Dartmoor buildings which includes Langston Farmhouse (north), Langstone Farmhouse (south), and their associated farmbuildings.