Mechi Farmhouse

Mechi Farmhouse is a farmhouse built between 1863 and 1864 for William Lawson of Brayton. The building features polychrome rubble walls with flush red-sandstone quoins, topped by a Welsh slate roof with red sandstone chimney stacks. It is two storeys high and has three bays, along with a lower two-storey, single-bay extension at a right angle to the main structure. There are two doorways and a window covered by a 20th-century glazed porch. The farmhouse has sash windows set in painted stone surrounds and two gabled dormer windows. The extension includes external stone steps leading to an upper-floor doorway, which was formerly a laboratory over the kitchen.

Mechi Farmhouse was part of a model co-operative farm, inspired by the methods established by Alderman Mechi at Tiptree Heath in Essex, which is reflected in its name, although it was known as Blennerhasset Farm for many years. William Lawson documented the farm's construction, management, and accounts in his book, "Ten Years of Gentleman Farming," published in 1874. This provides a unique insight into the operation of a model farm, which remains remarkably intact. Lawson noted that he took occupation of the farm on February 2, 1862, at the age of 26, and aimed to establish it as a co-operative farm, introducing innovative methods such as the steam plough. Despite its revolutionary approach and the establishment of co-operative farm shops as far away as Newcastle and Carlisle, the farm ultimately faced significant losses. Lawson believed that with a workforce familiar with his methods, the farm could have been successful.