Cow House Approximately 25 Metres West Of Yardworthy Farmhouse

The cow house, located approximately 25 metres west of Yardworthy Farmhouse, is a building that may have originally served a different purpose. Its construction date is uncertain, but it is likely from the 16th or 17th century, with possible earlier origins. The structure was enlarged in the 19th century and reroofed in the 20th century. It is built from large blocks of granite ashlar, with some areas patched and extended using granite stone rubble, and features a corrugated iron roof.

The building is long and low, facing east into the farmyard, and is terraced into the slope of the land. The right end section is a 19th-century extension, which has a wide front doorway that has been reduced in size. The larger original section includes a central doorway with a granite porch, flanked by blocked doorways. The porch, an original feature, has walls made of granite ashlar and a roof constructed from large granite slabs that are slightly tilted outward. The underside of the porch contains a hole on the left side that likely served as the upper hanging for the entrance door, although the sill and lower hanging have been lost. Each inner side of the porch walls has a shallow rebate for the doorframe.

There are windows in the rear wall directly opposite the front doors, with the central one blocked. These windows are lined with slabs of ashlar, and one contains similar bearings for a hanging shutter. Although the windows appear high in the wall from the inside, they are at ground level outside due to the terracing. There is also a smaller original window in the left (south) end. The roof is monopitch, sloping forward.

Inside, there are no early carpentry details visible, and the roof structure is from the 20th century. A stone rubble crosswall to the left of the main original doorway is a later addition, and there is a small cupboard alcove to the right of the original blocked right doorway. This building is quite interesting, with its original function remaining unclear and its dating uncertain. The substantial ashlar masonry suggests a construction date between the 14th and 17th centuries.