Farm Building to rear of Gesail

This is a long farm building situated at a right angle to the slope, located to the rear of Gesail. Constructed of local boulder stone with a random slate roof, the building features a coped gable at its upper end. It comprises two units, originally used as cow-houses, with its main elevation facing south-east.

The left-hand unit has a doorway towards the centre, featuring a slate lintel, and a window to its left with a timber lintel. An offset loading door, with renewed joinery, is positioned in the upper gable end. The right-hand unit has a lower doorway centrally located, with a rough local stone lintel, and a window to its right, immediately below the eaves. A single, very small window is present in the rear elevation. Each section of the building is divided into two bays.

The left-hand, or upper, section—the part furthest from the main house—may be the earlier of the two. It is separated by a stone wall from the lower section, and internally features a substantial tie-beam truss with curved principals, two tiers of very large trenched purlins, queen posts and a collar. The ends of the tie beam are embedded within the surrounding walls and visible externally, and the wall plate is higher than the foot of the principals. A longitudinal beam runs beneath the tie-beam, with slots cut to have supported a loft floor, now lost; both the tie beam and the longitudinal beam retain red chalk setting-out lines. There is evidence indicating that this truss was originally intended to be enclosed: the tie beam has grooves for a partition, and stave holes appear in the principal rafters and collar, although not in the tie beam itself. Torching is present on the underside of the roof.

The lower section also contains a single tie-beam truss, this one with straight principals, a king-post and a collar. The ends of the tie beam rest on pads atop what appears to be an earlier wall top, which then steps back and continues to a higher wall-plate, aligning with the position of the purlins and secondary rafters. The original positions of the purlins are still visible on the principal rafters. Again, there is some evidence suggesting an original intention for the truss to be enclosed, with a slot in the tie-beam consistent with a partition and stave holes in the principal rafters and collar, although these are not present in the tie beam.