Farmhouse And Steading, Paxton South Mains

A farmhouse and steading of early 19th-century date, situated opposite the entrance to Paxton House. The property represents a good example of a plain, traditional farmhouse of this period with the remains of its associated courtyard steading, though the northern range has been replaced.

Farmhouse

The main house is a symmetrical, two-storey, three-bay structure built of squared and coursed tooled pink sandstone rubble with rubble to the sides and rear, dressed with ashlar. It features a flat-roofed classical porch projecting from the front, with a base course, droved quoins, and long and short surrounds to all openings with projecting cills. The porch is finished in ashlar, with panelled angle pilasters flanking a timber flush panelled door and a two-pane letterbox fanlight.

The south elevation shows single windows flanking the porch at ground level, with single windows in all bays at first floor. The west side elevation has the principal block to the right with single windows at both floors, adjoined to the left by a lower block with a single centred window at ground. Above this, a gabled sandstone dormerhead breaks the eaves. A recessed range to the left has a lean-to porch, another gabled sandstone dormerhead to a bipartite window, and a single window at ground to the left, with an ancillary structure beyond.

The east side elevation mirrors this arrangement, with the principal block to the left and single storey ancillary structures adjoining. Windows throughout are predominantly of 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case form. The house has a grey slate piended roof with corniced wallhead stacks to the principal block and an apex stack to the rear, finished with circular cans.

Steading

The remains of a courtyard steading adjoin the house. The eastern range is a single-storey rectangular block of tooled sandstone rubble with tooled dressings. Its west (courtyard) elevation features a timber door at centre, flanking single windows, and further openings to the outer left. The house adjoins to the outer right. Windows are 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case. The range has a grey slate roof.

The western range is irregular, enclosing the courtyard to the west. It comprises a two-storey, five-bay rectangular cartshed and granary to the outer left; a two-storey, six-bay block at centre; and a single-storey L-plan range to the outer right. All is built in tooled sandstone rubble with tooled dressings. The courtyard elevation shows the cartshed and granary with four arched cart openings at ground and a square-headed door to the outer right, with single windows in three bays above. An irregularly fenestrated six-bay range adjoins to the right, followed by a single-storey range with a square-headed door. The cartshed and granary is roofed in corrugated iron, whilst the remainder has grey slate roofs.

Boundary Features

The property is partially enclosed by low coped walls and spearheaded iron railings to the front. A coped, square-plan pier at the outer right incorporates a post box (shared with West Lodge). The pedestrian entrance to the site is flanked by coped, square-plan gatepiers with 2-leaf spearheaded iron gates. To the left is a vehicular entrance with coped, square-plan gatepiers and a modern gate. A side pedestrian entrance has corniced, square-plan gatepiers with shallow pyramidal caps and a modern gate. The farm entrance to the outer left is flanked by circular-plan sandstone rubble gatepiers and squat quadrant walls.

Historical Note

Rutherfurd's Southern Counties' Register and Directory records a Mr John Nisbet as farmer at this location in 1866. The property appears on Sharp, Greenwood & Fowler's map of 1826 (marked as 'Paxton Mains') and the Ordnance Survey map of 1857.