Ayton Mains

Ayton Mains is an asymmetrical, two-story, three-bay Tudor-gabled farmhouse dating to circa 1870, built in the style of William J Gray, architect, Coldingham. Subsequent additions and alterations have been made to the structure. The house is constructed of harl-pointed rubble with red sandstone dressings. It features a base course and moulded eaves in parts, with stugged sandstone quoins, raised, tabbed and chamfered margins, chamfered cills, and painted sandstone mullions. Gabled dormerheads project above the first-floor windows.

The southwest (entrance) elevation features a timber panelled door, with a plate glass fanlight above, centered at ground level, and a bipartite window breaking the eaves above. A bipartite window is located at ground level in the bay to the outer left, with a bipartite window breaking the eaves above that. A full-height gabled wing projects to the right, containing a tripartite window centered at ground level and a bipartite window aligned at the first floor, with a small attic light above. A boarded timber door is set into a recessed single-story addition to the outer right.

The northwest side elevation has a two-bay gabled range with bipartite windows at both floors in each bay. A lower, two-bay wing extends to the left with bipartite windows at both floors in each bay, breaking the eaves at the upper floor with a single gablehead. A blind elevation is present on the full-height projection recessed to the outer right.

The northeast (rear) elevation features a main block with a bipartite window centered at ground level and a matching window breaking the eaves above. A bipartite window is situated at ground level in the bay to the left, with another breaking the eaves. A lower, two-story projection extends to the outer right incorporating a boarded timber door at ground level, offset to the left of center. A single-story addition is found to the outer left.

The windows are predominantly timber sash and case with lying-pane glazing. The roof is covered with grey slate, featuring stone-coped skews and moulded skewputts. Cast-iron rainwater goods are in place. The house has corniced, brick-built apex stacks to the southeast and northwest, connected by flues and topped with circular cans. The interior was not inspected in 1999.

The site is enclosed by rubble-coped rubble walls. Quadrant walls flank the entrance, constructed with tooled red sandstone quoins. These walls lead to square-plan, stop-chamfered, red sandstone gatepiers supporting a two-leaf timber gate.