Former Maltings at Swndwr Farm

The former maltings at Swndwr Farm are a long, eleven-window range, originally built in the 18th century from rubble stone and initially three storeys high. In 1824, the building was extended to the east and raised by an additional storey using brick. The exterior features roughly dressed quoins, slate roofs, and raised stone copings on kneelers, with brick dressings also dating to 1824. Small, two-light wooden casement windows with stone sills are found on the side elevations. Windows on the top floor have segmental brick heads, while those below have flat stone lintels and brick reveals. Some of the lower storey windows have been altered to doorways, either with stone lintels or brick arched heads, now containing boarded doors. Originally, there was one doorway on the north side. The left-hand end of the north side presents an irregular arrangement of openings, including a wooden loading door at first-floor level, set within a segmental brick head and inserted during the building’s working life. The range continues in brick to the left, mainly as a short, three-storey block with an end stack, and features a first-floor doorway and two or three windows on each storey.

The south elevation features similar detailing to the north, including ground, first, and second-floor doorways on the far left, with the latter having a segmental brick head, and those below with stone lintels. There’s also a first-floor doorway to the right of centre. All upper-storey doorways are accessed via external stairs. The west gable end, facing the farmyard, boasts loading doorways on the first, second, and third floors, now fitted with late 20th-century windows with boarding below. The first and third floors have segmental brick heads, while the second floor has a stone lintel. A hole in the gable apex originally accommodated a girder that supported a hoist.

Internally, the building has been converted into six apartments and was inaccessible during inspection. In 1987, it was reported to contain shallow-pitched king-post trusses on brick pilasters, with alternate bays featuring vertical supports for purlins. Timber floors were supported by timber cross-beams, and vertical supports were used for the upper floors. The ground floor featured longitudinal beams supported alternately by metal girders and cross-beams with iron columns and clasping brackets. A winch for the hoist (now removed) was located on the top floor of the west end.