Orchard Farm, Crossford

Orchard Farm, Crossford

Dated 1868 with later alterations. This is a 2-storey, 3-bay near-symmetrical farmhouse with crowstepped gables and an armorial shield to the crowstepped dormers, positioned at the centre of a U-plan farm arrangement. The barn range is to the right (north), the stables range to the left (south), and a cartshed projection extends to the east end, forming a courtyard.

The house is constructed in stugged and snecked cream sandstone with droved dressings; the farm buildings are of squared sandstone rubble with stugged long and short surrounds to openings. The eaves course features a hood mould over a date panel above the door, with block cills throughout.

House: The north-east (courtyard) elevation comprises 3 bays with a lower 2-bay wing to the right. The 3-bay block has a timber-panelled door with a 2-pane letterbox fanlight at ground in a slightly advanced central bay; above it sits the date panel (stone cleaned), with a first-floor window above. Windows flank at each floor in the remaining bays. The 2-bay block has a window in the left bay, a boarded door in the right bay, and a small high window between them. The south-west (external) elevation is irregular with 9 bays grouped 5-2-2. A 2-storey, 2-bay block occupies the centre with recessed 3-light canted windows at ground and single piended dormers breaking the eaves at first floor in each bay. A timber-panelled door with recessed window sits to the right in a recessed block. The 5-bay range to the left has 2 irregularly fenestrated bays to the right; a timber-panelled door with small-pane overdoor light and recessed windows flanking occupy the left bays. The interior was not seen in 1997.

Barn: The south-east (courtyard) elevation is near-regular with 3 bays, each with a 2-leaf boarded door, and a window in the flanking bay to the outer left. The north-west (external) elevation is irregularly fenestrated with 6 bays of boarded doors and a single gabled bay to the outer right featuring 6 evenly disposed blind slits to the centre and a window at ground to the left. The north-east end wall is blank except for a 2-stage mounting block at its centre. The interior has an open timber-framed roof with exposed king posts, braces and tie beams; boarded connecting doors run to the west end.

Stables: The north-east (courtyard) elevation is a near-regular 9-bay range with a tall wallhead swept 'prow'-roofed doocot at the centre, featuring a boarded door to the hay-loft and flight holes to the gable above. In the left bays are 2-leaf boarded doors with windows in each bay flanking, and a 2-leaf boarded tack-room door at the outer left. The right bays mirror this arrangement. The interior has full-height boarded walls to the tack room at the east end; double wrought-iron bridle hooks are set high along the south-west wall with a single remaining saddle rack above. The stable range is divided with 4 stalls to each side of the doocot. The range to the left (north-east) has downswept vertically boarded partitions with cast-iron, ball-finalled terminal supports dividing stalls, each with a tethering ring; timber hecks with tethering rings at ground level have cast-iron hay racks above each stall. The range to the right (south-west) was originally divided into 4 stalls; a central boarded partition remains with a downswept cast-iron lattice section above and ball-finalled cast-iron terminals.

Cartshed: The south-west (courtyard) elevation is regular with 3 bays, each with segmental-arch 2-leaf boarded doors; windows occupy each leaf in the right bay, and a cast-iron corner guard sits at the outer left. The north-east (external) elevation has a boarded door set to the outer left and a half-sunk gatepier with ball finial to the outer right. The interior was not seen in 1997.

Roof and Finishes: Timber sash and case windows predominate, with some lying-pane windows remaining; hopper windows serve the ranges, and the lower half of some stable windows are louvered. Flush roof lights illuminate the ranges. The roof is of grey slate with ridge vents; slate also covers the doocot and piended ranges. Ashlar skews and ashlar coped stacks finish the gabled ends, whilst a wide brick coped ridge stack rises from the barn range. Cast-iron rainwater goods complete the installations.