Milrig Farm Steading And Cattle Courts

Milrig Farm Steading and Cattle Courts

A farmhouse and steading complex originating in the 18th century, with the steading dated 1737 and significant 19th century additions and alterations. The buildings are constructed in rubble sandstone with squared dressings and some ashlar work.

The steading follows a U-plan layout, with the farmhouse incorporated into the southern range and a cattle court block filling the courtyard. The southern range features a high outer wall that incorporates the farmhouse at its centre and west, sweeping down over a pantiled single-storey store to the east of the farmhouse and terminating in a single-storey bothy with a steeply pitched gable advanced to the north, which has a window and door on its eastern return.

The western range comprises two single-storey bays to the left with a sliding door and window (modern glazing), followed by a tall single-storey block to the south of centre that formerly housed a hen house with a door and hen opening to the courtyard. To the right of centre stands a 2-storey block dating to the 19th century but incorporating earlier fabric, featuring a blinded arrowslit to the outer left window, a sliding door at ground level with a loading window above at centre flanked by windows, and an arrowslit in the gablehead to the south. A lower 2-storey bay closes the courtyard elevation with a sliding door and small window under the eaves.

The northern range contains a single-storey row of red pantiled early 19th century bothies and stores, with two or three bays to the centre and left opening to the courtyard with doors and windows (the centre door with a sliding door), and one 3-bay section to the right with doors flanked by windows. A piend-roofed red pantiled block is adjoined to the northeast with a machinery door to the east return.

The cattle courts are contained within a single-storey block with courts at centre now covered, some of which have segmental cart-arches blocked to the inner court with cast-iron columns supporting the roof. The eastern range is a gabled block with crowsteps incorporating earlier fabric, featuring blocked cattle feeding doors to the outer elevation, one with a lintel dated 1737. The rounded corner is moulded to square at the eaves.

Throughout the steading, some small-pane and shuttered windows survive. The roofing consists of red pantiles and grey slates with ashlar coped skews.

The farmhouse dominates the southern range of the U-plan steading as a 2-storey rectangular-plan building. Originally three bays on the steading elevation, an additional bay was added in the 19th century incorporating an existing wall to the south. Some openings were altered in the 19th century with the addition of gabled dormerheads.

On the south elevation, at the centre and left of the high wall, are widely spaced bays. The two original farmhouse bays at centre and left feature a wall pierced to the right for the third bay, with a ridge stack indicating the extent of the addition. A gabled stone porch at the outer left contains a round-arched doorway flanked by a small window to the left, with a further window in the centre bay and gabled dormerheads to the first-floor windows. The bay to the right has windows set higher with a relieving arch to the ground-floor window and a gabled dormerhead to the first-floor window. At the outer left of the range stands an apparent crenellated screen wall with a ground-floor window.

The north elevation facing the courtyard contains three bays of the original house, with a door at centre flanked by a window to the left and a window to each bay at first-floor level.

The farmhouse features plate glass glazing in sash and case windows, including one 12-pane example and one modern window. Ashlar coped skews and grey slates cover the roof, with gablehead and mutual gable stone stacks incorporating thackstanes added in the 19th century.

The farmhouse garden is enclosed by a rubble coped rubble wall with a gabled overthrow to a gate at the east.