Malthouse at Somerlea Farm

Malthouse at Somerlea Farm

Former maltings, now disused, constructed in the mid-19th century.

The building is constructed of coursed limestone rubble under slate roofs. The main part of the building has half-hipped roofs, while the projecting bay has a hipped roof. Windows throughout are unglazed casements of two or three lights with vertical wrought-iron security bars, set under segmental-arched rubble heads, except for the second-floor windows which are flat-headed at the eaves. The windows to the south-west elevation are fitted with internal panelled shutters.

The building is essentially rectangular on plan with a central projecting bay on the north-east side and is three storeys high. It follows the typical Newark-pattern malthouse design. Internally it is divided into four separate sections: a central area containing the furnace and roasting floor; flanking long open ranges to the north-west and south-east where the growing and germinating floors were located; and a short projecting bay on the north-east side that served as a combined stair and loading range. Two single-storey lean-tos were added to either side of the projecting bay in the 20th century and are not of special interest.

The main section has eleven bays and is approximately 50 metres long. The south-west elevation, which faces Somerlea Farmhouse, has a symmetrical arrangement of window openings except for the central section, which has an off-centre doorway and a two-light window to the ground floor, and a three-light window above marking the position of the roasting floor. The south-east return has a tall loading or pitching door with a second-floor window above. The ground floor of the north-east elevation has fewer window openings than the opposing side, with two windows to both the ground and first floors of the south-east range and a ground-floor doorway with a window above to the north-west range. An inserted cart opening is present at the north end of the north-west range. The central three bays break forward, and each of its three floors has a central taking-in door with a two-light window to either side. There are two further windows to the first and second floors in the north-west return.

Internally the building is little altered and reflects its former use as a maltings. There are low floor-to-ceiling heights and long timber bridging beams supported on a central row of cast-iron columns. The ground floor of the south-east range has been subdivided with partitions and a small section of the first-floor timbers at the northern end of the opposite range has been removed, but otherwise the growing floors remain as originally built. The kiln is positioned in the central part of the building with a furnace to the ground floor. This has a brick plinth which supports segmental brick vaults with wrought-iron tie bars and retains its cast-iron fire boxes, draw vents and an integral bread oven. Above the furnace are the characteristic cast-iron floor beams and perforated terracotta tiles of the kiln or roasting floor. Hatches between the kiln floor and the adjacent growing floors are fitted with either vertical runners for grain boards or plank doors. Above the kiln is an open-topped pyramid of tongue and groove boarding fixed to the roof structure and the surrounding walls. Four hoops for the roof cowl are visible, although the cowl covering itself does not survive. The projecting bay behind the kiln which served as a combined stair and loading range has two stone-lined steep tanks to the ground floor, a timber ladder staircase between the floors, and a chute between the attic and first floors. Further hatches are present in the upper floors of the two flanking ranges. The roof throughout is a king post structure with angled struts, side purlins and common rafters.