Tucker's Grave Inn and Attached Barns

Tucker's Grave Inn and Attached Barns

An inn, formerly a cottage, of early-to-mid-18th century date with attached 19th century barns and 20th century additions.

The building is constructed of coursed rubble with double Roman tile roofs, coped verges, and roughcast end stacks to the inn. The 20th century outshut to the east end is rendered.

The plan comprises a three-room pub with no bar counter and converted barns attached at the side and rear. The pub and side barn are two storeys, while the rear barns are single storey.

The three-bay road front features bead-moulded two and three-light stone-mullioned windows with casements, some with glazing bars. Continuous weathered strings run over the window heads. A 20th century canted bay sits to the left of the off-centre door on the right. The door has a bead-moulded stone surround, plank door, and a stone slab hood on brackets. To the right is a former barn with a pantile roof and a ventilator opening under the eaves. Against the east end of the barn is a rendered mid-20th century outshut of no special interest. The rear elevation of the pub and barn is rubblestone with casement openings and a 20th century attic dormer to the left. A stair turret with a pyramidal pantile roof stands beside the pub. The doorway to the left has a plank door and timber case. The return kitchen range to the right has a catslide roof with coped verges. Attached to the north end is a 19th century rubblestone barn range with a monopitch roof facing the side lane. Against the north-east wall is a 20th century outshut addition. The south-west elevation of the 19th century additions faces the lane: the lower-height range to the left has no openings; the barn range to the right has three inserted casements under concrete cills. The west flank of the pub has a coped gable with a rendered end stack and a casement with stone architrave on the right side of the gable. At ground-floor level there is a stone storage building under a pantile roof with a timber door to the left. To the right is a small concrete enclosure to the roadside corner of the pub of no special interest.

The principal entrance to the pub is through the rear door, which has a braced plank door with iron fittings. The passageway leads around the internal wall of the stair turret with panelling to the corridor and doors with iron hinges, with a plank door to the road at the south end. Three rooms lead off the corridor: the Tap Room to the east, the public bar to the centre, and the former parlour bar to the west, accessed through the central bar area.

The Tap Room has a plank door inscribed with a name plate of probable early-19th century date. It contains a central fireplace with ashlar jambs, lintel, and a stone hearth, with a late-20th century stove and mantelpiece. A fitted cupboard with 18th to 19th century hinges stands to the right. The window in the south wall has panelled shutters and a window seat with moulded skirting boards. A fitted bench seat against the opposite wall has a service bell fixed to the uppermost horizontal back board. The wall to the right deviates with the corridor angle and has wide plank panelling with mouldings. A tall sealed window opening with ledge, which may be a former off-sales counter or cask access point, stands to the right.

The central bar corridor wall's upper section of panelling appears formerly glazed. The door to the central bar has upper glazing with a ledge below. The central bar contains a pine settle to each wall, either side of a 19th century moulded cast-iron fireplace with glazed tiles and a marbled stone chimneypiece. Under the south window is a rack holding beer casks, and the window ledge also supports beer and cider containers. Shelving for glasses stands to each side of the window and above it.

The former parlour bar has a window seat and an exposed stone west wall with a 19th century fireplace, slightly larger than and of similar fabric and decoration to that in the central bar. Steps from the parlour lead to the rear kitchen and service areas beyond.

The pub rooms each have an 18th century oak ceiling beam with slender chamfers and pine floorboards. The staircase to the rear turret is of 21st century date. The upper floors were not inspected. The building to the rear has a 20th century skittle alley, and the former barn to the east has a cast-iron stove to the ground floor.

Close to the rear door of the pub is a well with circular rubblestone walling approximately nine courses in height and with slender coping stones.