Steading, Paxton South Mains

Steading at Paxton South Mains

This is an early 19th-century farmhouse with later additions and alterations, set opposite the entrance to Paxton House. It comprises a main symmetrical house, ancillary ranges, and the remains of a courtyard steading, though the northern range has been replaced.

The Farmhouse

The main house is a 2-storey, 3-bay structure built of squared and coursed tooled pink sandstone rubble with rubble to the sides and rear, and ashlar dressings. It features a base course, droved quoins, and long and short surrounds to openings with projecting cills.

The south (entrance) elevation displays a flat-roofed classical porch with corniced ashlar detailing at the centre. The porch is flanked by angle pilasters and contains a timber flush panelled door with a 2-pane letterbox fanlight. Single windows flank the porch at ground floor, and single windows appear in all bays at first floor level.

The west (side) elevation shows the principal block on the right with single windows at both floors. To the left is a lower adjoined block with a single centred ground window and a gabled sandstone dormerhead above breaking the eaves. A recessed range to the left has a projecting lean-to porch and a gabled sandstone dormerhead over a bipartite window, with a single ground-floor window to the left and a single-storey ancillary structure beyond.

The east (side) elevation shows the principal block to the left with a single ground-floor window. The lower adjoined range to the right contains single openings at ground level and gabled sandstone dormerheads to windows breaking the eaves, with a single-storey ancillary structure further right. The north (rear) elevation was not observed in 1999.

The windows are predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case, glazed throughout. The roof is grey slate with piended detailing. Corniced wallhead stacks serve the principal block, with a further apex stack at the rear, all with circular cans. The interior was not seen in 1999.

The Steading Ranges

The steading comprises three ranges enclosing a courtyard to the east, west, and north (the latter being replaced).

The east range is a single-storey rectangular block adjoining the house. Built of tooled sandstone rubble with tooled dressings, its courtyard-facing (west) elevation features a timber door at centre with flanking single windows and further openings to the outer left, where the house adjoins. The windows are 12-pane timber sash and case. The roof is grey slate. The interior was not seen in 1999.

The west range is irregular, comprising a 2-storey, 5-bay cartshed and granary to the outer left, a 2-storey, 6-bay block at centre, and a single-storey L-plan range to the outer right, all enclosing the courtyard to the west. Built of tooled sandstone rubble with tooled dressings, the courtyard-facing (east) elevation of the cartshed and granary has four arched cart openings at ground level and a square-headed door to the outer right, with single windows in three bays above. An irregularly fenestrated 6-bay range adjoins to the right. The single-storey range to the outer right has a square-headed door to its outer left. The cartshed and granary are roofed in corrugated iron, while the remainder have grey slate roofs. The interiors were not seen in 1999.

Boundary Features

The site is bounded by low coped walls, partially enclosing it, with spearheaded iron railings to the front. A coped square-plan pier to the outer right houses a post box (shared with West Lodge). Two pairs of coped square-plan gatepiers flank pedestrian and vehicular entrances to the front, the pedestrian gatepiers having a 2-leaf spearheaded iron gate. A further pair of corniced square-plan gatepiers with shallow pyramidal caps flanks a pedestrian entrance to the side, with a modern gate. Circular-plan sandstone rubble gatepiers and squat quadrant walls flank the farm entrance to the outer left.

Historical Notes

This is a good example of an early 19th-century plain traditional farmhouse with its courtyard steading largely intact. Rutherfurd's Southern Counties' Register and Directory records a Mr John Nisbet as farmer here in 1866. The property appears on Sharp, Greenwood & Fowler's map of 1826 (marked as 'Paxton Mains') and on the 1857 Ordnance Survey map.