Tarn House And Stable Adjoining West Return

Tarn House is a 17th-century house, dated 1664 on the door lintels, with initials G.F. and I.F. (George Fothergill and his wife Julian), and it may incorporate earlier fabric with later alterations. An 18th-century stable adjoins the west return. The house is constructed of wet-dashed rubble with quoins, while the stable is of coursed squared rubble. The house has a graduated slate roof, and the stable has a corrugated asbestos roof to the front and graduated stone flags to the rear. A wing projects from the rear.

The two-storey house has a 1½-storey porch. The five-bay front features a chamfered plinth. A central, gabled porch has an outer entrance with an architrave and incised scrolled stops to the jambs, and a 4-centred head with a dated lintel, along with stone side benches. A studded plank inner door has a chamfered surround with a 4-centred head. There is a 6-light window to the right and two 2-light windows to the left, all under a continuous hoodmould that acts as a string, with ornate scrolled labels. A framed stone above the porch entrance, appearing to be re-used, displays five shields bearing the arms of Fothergill, Scrope, Dent, Brand, and Skelton, with a lobed square opening above and ornate scrolled labels to its hoodmould. The first floor has 2-light and 4-light windows to the right, and two 2-light windows to the left, all under hoodmoulds with scrolled labels. Larger windows are subdivided by king mullions into 2-light windows. All original windows to the front and rear wing are casements in double-chamfered surrounds with chamfered stone mullions. An east return shows a single window (first floor blocked) in a chamfered surround with a trefoil head, seemingly re-used.

The two-bay stable has doors with casements and narrow blocked openings to each floor on the left, and a loft entrance on the west return via a ramp. The house has stone copings and kneelers to the porch and gables, a diagonally-set finial to the porch, and stepped and corniced end chimneys.

Inside the house, there are large segment-arched fireplaces to the ground floor east and rear kitchen, along with shaped door-lintels with decorative carving. A two-stage cupboard is built into a 17th-century partition, separating the kitchen from the stairs, and features a pierced frieze. Massive chamfered beams are also present. The stable contains a single upper-cruck truss. Traditionally said to be the first house in the district with a slated roof.