Leigh Barton Farmhouse

Leigh Barton Farmhouse is a building of late medieval origin, significantly enlarged in 1627 and largely rebuilt in the 18th century. It was originally a grange belonging to Cleeve Abbey. The farmhouse is constructed of rendered rubble with a steeply pitched slate roof, featuring moulded cornices and stone stacks at the gable ends and to the right of the entrance, the latter purportedly dated 1811. It has a courtyard plan, with the farmhouse facing east, a south wing that was formerly a private chapel, a north-east annexe, and a closed west front with a shelter shed.

The main farmhouse is two storeys high and four bays wide, with 12-pane sash windows. A Ham stone Roman Doric porch with a frieze stands in front of the recessed six-panel entrance door, which has side lights and is approached by three steps. The rear elevation overlooks the courtyard and has a corrugated iron roof. C20 fenestration is present, along with a projecting slate hung gable end attached to an annexe in the north-west corner, which was built as a self-contained unit.

The annexe is of squared and coursed red sandstone with an asbestos slate roof. It is two storeys high and consists of a single bay lit only on the north front. A large external double stack is located to the left of the rebuilt entrance wall. The right stack has a square plaque inscribed with "1627 GP AP" (Giles Poyntz). A West Somerset slate roofed pentice disguises the lower portion of the stack, supported by two circular columns flanking a 19th-century door.

Inside the annexe, there is a single cell with chamfered beams and scroll stops. An ovolo moulded door frame leads to the stairs; a first-floor room is reputed to contain a similar doorcase with a plasterwork frieze and a badly mutilated fireplace. An upper floor is now accessible only from the farmhouse, having been altered when the room transitioned into a brewhouse and bakehouse. A copper vat with a stoke hole is located to the left of the fireplace, which also contains an oven. A cambered pebble pathway connects the entrance of the annexe with that of the south wing, which was formerly a private chapel, now reroofed, with an inserted floor and lacking distinguishing features. The west side of the farm has a shelter shed with a West Somerset slate roof and a 19th-century door in the north-west corner.

Between 1609 and 1691, Leigh Barton was occupied by the Roman Catholic Poyntz family, who had a resident chaplain. One such chaplain, Philip Powel, was later martyred at Tyburn in 1646 during the Civil War. It is believed that this annexe provided accommodation for the resident chaplain although a possible alternative proposal suggests it housed two female relatives of Giles Poyntz who were seeking religious seclusion.