Mullender and detached barn

Mullender and Detached Barn

This farmstead comprises a farmhouse with attached barn and an adjacent detached barn, dating from the 17th century with later adaptations. The buildings are constructed of local stone laid in regular courses beneath pitched roofs of graduated Westmorland slate.

The rectangular farmhouse faces south onto the road, with the barn set slightly forward to the east. The original structure is built of local rubblestone with long thin quoins and a rough plinth, rising to two storeys. The uneven roofline suggests the retention of a historic roof structure. The south elevation features a secondary entrance at the west end with a plank door, flanked to the right by three small ground floor windows each fitted with a waney timber lintel beneath a continuous slate drip mould. A smaller four-pane window at the right end may be a fire window, lighting a former internal inglenook. At least three small blocked first-floor windows with stone lintels are visible, suggesting significant internal change. Attached to the left gable is a secondary two-storey bay which is blind, each floor containing a narrow blocked window. The left return is rendered, obscuring original detailing. The right return shows projecting chimney supports to the apex indicating an internal hearth. An original gable entrance with timber lintel, now blocked with stone and topped by a slate drip mould, opens from the right side. The rear elevation similarly constructed contains a scar indicating the position of a former external winder stair; a first-floor entrance accessed from this stair remains in situ with a boarded door. Other blocked openings and scars mark the historic fabric. The rear of the western addition has an original ground floor entrance with timber lintel and drip mould, and an inserted first floor opening.

The threshing barn is a single-storey rectangular structure of local stone with long narrow quoins and a boulder plinth. Built into higher ground at its south end, the south elevation facing the road features a rough line of through stones below the eaves. A single winnowing door is fitted with a boarded door, stone lintel with timber backing supported on stone corbels, and a prominent threshold. A former opening at the west end is blocked. The right and left returns are blind with alternating thinner courses of stone within random rubble. The rear elevation has centrally-placed double threshing doors with an inserted RSJ beam; a blocked opening at the north end and a partially blocked opening at the west end now form a large window.

Interior of the Farmhouse

The farmhouse interior reflects its later conversion to a cow byre, featuring a cobbled floor, stone-lined manure channel, and a row of four stalls against the north wall. The stalls, raised on a cobbled platform edged with substantial stone blocks, are formed of boarded timbers. The original domestic function is evident in the east gable wall, where the remains of a former hearth is flanked on the right by a pair of niches indicating sites of spice and salt cupboards. Below this is a large rectangular alcove, possibly a peat or fuel store, partly obscured by a later timber manger. To the left of the hearth stands the original blocked gable entry with a waney timber lintel; at the junction with the north wall is a tall rectangular alcove. The north wall shows further evidence of domestic features, some associated with the former external stair. A scarcement just below the inserted 20th-century floor indicates the position of a former first floor. The west extension is entered through an opening in the original west gable fitted with a boarded door with strap hinges. This room has a king post roof truss of sawn timber with single purlins and rafters, all replacements.

Viewed from the hayloft above, the upper east gable retains a stone chimney flue with integral supporting timbers and square holes on either side for additional supports. The upper west gable retains evidence for a second chimney flue similarly flanked by square holes, suggesting hearths at either end of the dwelling. The roof structure comprises triangular roof trusses of rustic and wany form with double purlins and a ridge piece. Graffiti etched in plaster around one of the first-floor blocked windows dates to the 1930s.

Interior of the Detached Barn

The detached barn retains its original early pegged and hand-adzed roof structure comprising four wany triangular trusses with braces, double purlins, and a ridge piece. Some members are rustic and curved in profile, suggesting the possibility that they are reused cruck elements. The rafters have been replaced. A blocked opening at the west end incorporates stone alcoves or cupboards.