Gatepiers, Mountskip Farm

Gatepiers, Mountskip Farm

A late 18th-century farmhouse with early 19th-century additions and alterations, comprising a two-storey, three-bay rectangular plan structure with a rear courtyard enclosed by outbuildings. The farmhouse is constructed of random rubble with droved dressings and long and short quoins.

The principal north-east elevation is symmetrical, featuring an advanced stugged 19th-century porch at the centre of the ground floor containing a two-leaf replacement timber door with letterbox fanlight. Tripartite windows flank the porch bays, with regular fenestration to the first floor above. A coped crenellated parapet crowns the elevation, broken at the centre by a 19th-century crowstepped gablet enclosing a blind niche. Single-storey, single-bay 19th-century lean-to wings extend to the outer left and right, each with a screenwall featuring tripartite windows to the ground and crenellated parapet. The outer left return contains a two-leaf boarded timber door at the centre, breaking the eaves in a cat-slide roof, with a two-pane window to the right. The outer right return is blank.

The north-west elevation has its ground floor obscured by the lean-to addition, while the remainder is blank. The south-west elevation is asymmetrical across three bays. An off-centre lean-to on the left contains a four-pane barred window and a boarded timber door to the outer left, with a four-pane window to the left return and slate roof. To the right of the lean-to is a small single-pane window, followed by a barred four-pane window in the adjacent bay. A replacement four-pane vertical window with two top hoppers appears in the leftmost bay, with a first-floor window above and a stair window between floors. The south-east elevation is asymmetrical with ground-floor detail obscured by lean-to; a single first-floor window sits off-centre to the left.

Throughout, the farmhouse displays predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows. The grey slate roof features a lead ridge with ashlar stone skews. Coped ashlar gablehead stacks with circular cans complete the external detailing, along with cast iron rainwater goods.

The outbuildings, dating to the late 18th century with later additions and alterations, form a U-plan arrangement with a hexagonal horse engine house. The courtyard interior comprises a south-east range with asymmetrical central four-bay section showing irregular fenestration in the centre two bays, boarded timber doors to flanking bays, and two skylights in the grey slate roof. A two-bay section to the outer left has two boarded timber doors and red pantiled roof with coped gablehead stack, while a single-bay section to the outer right features a bipartite window. The south-west range contains a three-bay section with a central two-bay cart shed to the left and opening to the right with pantiled roof. A harled single-bay section to the outer left has a replacement window and slate roof, while a three-bay section to the outer right features a wide central opening, boarded timber sliding door to the right, and boarded timber door flanked by window to the left, all with relieving arches. Two small windows sit above with three rooflights in the slate roof. The north-west range, single-storey and attic, has a single bay to the outer left with replacement ground window and first-floor dormer breaking the eaves. A pantiled section to the right contains a boarded timber door to the left and rooflights.

The courtyard exterior's south-east range was not inspected in 1997. The south-west range shows a central pantiled section with courtyard opening to the left, a three-bay section to the outer right with replacement boarded timber door flanked by replacement windows and coped ridge stack with circular can, and a much-altered section to the left with modern timber porch and irregular fenestration. The north-west range features a pantiled section to the left with irregular fenestration, modern brick lean-to addition, and a tooled squared and snecked rubble horse engine shed at the centre with modern brick infills, irregular fenestration, and slate roof (some missing). A glazed door opens to the re-entrant angle with bay to the outer right, which features a semi-circular window with rusticated surround and coped wallhead stack above with circular cans.

The kitchen garden to the north-west of the farmhouse is enclosed by random rubble walls with semi-circular coping. Droved snecked gates to the north feature chamfered margins with pyramidal caps and ball finials, accompanied by decorative iron gates. A rubble wall with semi-circular coping includes a stone stile built into the left of the gate.