Caswell Farmhouse And Attached Outbuildings

Caswell Farmhouse and its attached outbuildings, originally built around 1840, now form part of a research establishment and have undergone extensive alterations in the 20th century. The building is constructed from coursed squared ironstone and features a hipped slate roof with brick ridge and lateral stacks. It is a two-storey structure with a central block that has three windows, flanked by lower two-storey wings on either side that were rebuilt and enlarged in the 20th century.

The main entrance consists of a central double-leaf part-glazed door with panelled reveals, set beneath a shallow limestone porch supported by unfluted Doric columns. This porch has an entablature with triglyphs on the frieze and a pediment above. The windows include tripartite sash windows above the door and on the ground floor to the left and right, with 12-pane sashes on the first floor and in the wings, except for a tripartite sash in the ground floor centre of the right wing. All windows feature flat-arched heads and keyblocks.

The central bay of the main block projects slightly and has a low pedimental gable, complete with a string course at the base and a blank rectangular sunk panel in the gable. Additional architectural details include a plinth, storey band, chamfered quoins at the angles, and deep overhanging eaves. The symmetrical design is complemented by single-storey outbuilding wings, which have been converted into offices and extensively remodelled, featuring round-arched windows in the right wing. The left wing connects to a larger, much-altered range of former farm buildings that largely enclosed the former yard at the rear.

Inside, the farmhouse retains some original stone chimneypieces and a brick-lined cellar. It is one of three model farms constructed for the 4th Duke of Grafton between 1839 and 1844.