Thurston Home Farm

Thurston Home Farm is a substantial, circa 1850 steading built on a quadrangular plan, with a central range. The construction utilizes squared and snecked rubble red sandstone, with ashlar dressings. The south elevation features coursed stonework, while the north elevation showcases stugged stonework with droved dressings and a raised base course. The steading cottage is harled.

The south range is characterized by a three-bay gabled steading cottage situated centrally, above the central range, with a small-pane fanlight above the center door and two windows. Two farm entrances flank the cottage, marked by squat square ashlar piers. Return wings extend eastward and westward from this range.

The north range incorporates a two-storey gabled mill projecting northward at its center, alongside a forestair in the re-entrant angle to the right and a piend-roofed former engine house in the left re-entrant angle, with the pedestal of the former stalk remaining. A cart and granary range sits to the right, distinguished by tall granary windows and a projecting, four-bay piend-roofed cartshed added at ground level, supported by cast-iron columns. A full-height machinery door was later inserted to the outer right, featuring brick jambs. A pend is accessed via a forestair positioned off-centre to the right. A two-bay cartshed, also with cast-iron columns, occupies the left range.

The east range has timber lintelled machinery doors to the left, followed by six doorways leading to cattle courts in the center, terminating at the outer right with the gabled end of the north range and its machinery doors. A return wing to the right has a door, window, and blocked doorways facing south.

The west range exhibits the gabled end of the cartshed and granary to the outer left, with a barred upper window over a ground floor window. A further window flanks to the right. The main single-storey range is blank, with a doorway flanked by windows to the outer right, and two feeding doors integrated into the west return of the south range.

The courtyard is defined by four cattle courts, separated by three gabled projecting feeding ranges adjoining the east range and containing doorways to feeding passages in their gable ends. A gabled projection off-center to the left of the west range housed stables and offices. A T-plan steading cottage is centrally located, separated from the rear of the threshing mill by a passage. Five segmental carriageways have tall granary windows set above them at the west end of the north range, with a pend centrally positioned. Cast-iron columns support the partly covered cattle courts, and stone feeding troughs are present. Edward Brown's signature, 1852, along with a belt, is visible in the cartshed of the north range. Sash and case windows feature a small-pane glazing pattern. The architect is potentially Hunter of Thurston House, a known advocate for improved farming practices and a patron of local initiatives. The three-range arrangement, similar to Thurston Mains designed by Robert Bell in 1858, suggests Bell may have collaborated with Hunter on Home Farm’s design. Thurston Home Farm is listed at grade A as an outstanding surviving example of a perfected improvement steading, highly regarded during the later 19th century. The farm's layout is depicted on the 1854 Ordnance Survey map.