Steading, Newton Gray

Steading, Newton Gray

This late 19th century farmhouse and steading complex occupies falling ground. The main house is single storey with an attic storey in an L-plan arrangement. It has stugged and snecked cream rubble stonework to the south elevation, with random rubble elsewhere and stugged red sandstone dressings. The roof is grey slate with coped end stacks featuring thackstanes and a shouldered wallhead stack rising through the eaves at the west elevation. Windows are sash and case throughout: 8-pane to the ground floor and 4-pane to the attic. Relieving arches appear to the south elevation. The eaves are bracketed with plain bargeboards.

On the south elevation, the lower bays lie to the right with a door to the left set within a later glazed porch and a bipartite window to the right, together with a rooflight. A gable projects to the left with a bipartite window to the ground floor and a single window to the attic. The east gable contains a ground floor window to the right, an attic window to the left, and a window serving a slightly recessed single storey bay. The west elevation has a bipartite ground floor window to the left with a gabled dormerhead window above, and a window to a single storey bay at the left. The interior has no special features.

The steading itself comprises an early 19th century core with mid 19th century additions, incorporating an 18th century cottage and bothy, and a late 19th century machinery shed with late 20th century additions. The steading forms an irregular-plan group on falling ground with single storey and single storey and attic ranges. It is built of rubble with whinstone and irregular ashlar dressings. Roofs are of piended and gabled slate with pantiles to the central section. Doors and openings are boarded.

The south elevation includes a granary to the left with 2 enlarged openings and a blocked door to the right, with 3 granary openings above and 2 rooflights. A long lower bay extends to the right with a door to the left, 2 rooflights, and open slates.

The east elevation comprises 3 piend-roofed bays advanced to the left with large 2-leaf sliding doors to the centre. The right bay is blank while the left bay is masked by a dilapidated timber and corrugated metal shed. Open slates appear to the centre and left bays with 2 rooflights and some corrugated asbestos to the roof of the right bay. A blank bay is recessed to the right with a small poultry house at the re-entrant.

The north elevation has a door and 2 windows to the ground floor right, a gabled hayloft door above left, and 2 rooflights.

The west elevation contains a threshing barn to the left with various ground floor openings, a gabled hayloft door, and 3 rooflights. A boarded opening and rooflight appear to the right return. A 3-bay implement shed with piended roof projects to the left, with a pentice roof brick shed advanced to the right. Recessed bays extend to the right with a granary gable featuring a door and forestair at ground floor level, a granary door, and large paired doors to the left. The steading interior has undergone substantial alterations.

The cottage and bothy form a single storey rectangular-plan range consisting of a 5-bay cottage and 3-bay bothy situated close to the steading at its north-east angle. The buildings are of rubble with some stugged red ashlar and a slate roof. The bothy has a boulder base course. Doors are margined with enlarged window openings fitted with modern timber windows and cut-down stacks.

The front elevation shows the bothy to the left with a door to the centre and windows to the left and right. The cottage occupies the right section with a door to the centre, narrow windows to the left and right, and additional windows to the outer left and right. Two blocked windows appear to the right return gable. The rear elevation has a rubble and brick addition with cat-slide roof extending to the cottage at the left, and a window and blocked window to the bothy at the right.

The cottage and bothy interior features full-height boarded walls with some original chimneypieces. An advanced chimneybreast appears at the cottage. A datestone reading 1728 was recovered from the chimney at the cottage and bothy dividing wall.

The machinery shed is a high rectangular-plan structure north of the farmhouse with a concrete frame, boarded timber walls, and an open slate roof swept to the south. Modern timber and corrugated metal additions to the north and west are in compatible style.