MSO10004 - Post-medieval farm buildings at Colton Farm (Building)

Range of farm buildings including bank barn, horse engine house) linhays and water mill and wheel pit. Dated 1806. Stone rubble, hipped slate barn roof; linhays and mill roofs have been clad in corrugated iron. Plan: Large bank barn to north with semi-circular ended horse engine house on higher north side and a cattle yard on lower south side surrounded by open-fronted single storey linhays with an integral water mill in the south east corner. Exterior: Large 2 storey bank barn with 6 segmental arch shippon doorways (right hand blocked) on front facing yard and 2 large barn loading doors above (right hand blocked) with segmental arches and ventilation slits between. Under eaves at centre a stone tablet with initials IT and date 1806. At higher ground level at back of barn 2 similar barn doorways and ventilation slits and large semi-circular ended horse engine house at centre with semi-conical roof, blocked ground floor openings and external stone stairs on right (west) side to loft. Facing the yard are open-fronted linhays with circular stone rubble piers, 6-bays on the west side, 4 bays on the east side and 6 bays on the south side (some bays blocked) and a water mill in the south east corner with a large overshot wheel pit on its outer south side. Interior: Loft over horse engine house has corn bins. The barn and engine house have original tie-beam truss roofs with tenoned purlins, the barn with lapped collars. Similar roof over south linhay but without collars; the east and west linhays have tie-beam trusses with purlins resting on backs of principals. Note Colton Farm was formerly on the Nettlecombe estate and the datestone initials are those of a Trevelyan. [1] English Heritage Listed Building Number: 265049. First Listed on 29/03/1990. [2] Stone, Random rubble walls. Hipped roof [3] The farm buildings were not assessed during the rapid condition survey of Exmoor's Listed Buildings 2012-13. [4] The buildings are mentioned in the 2005 Exmoor Farmsteads Conservation Area Character Appraisal. [5] The buildings are discussed in the 2015 Exmoor Farmsteads Conservation Area Appraisal. There is a quite extensive area of cobbles in the main yard south of the farmhouse with slightly raised paving fronting the bank barn, linhays and cartsheds.[6] The buildings were assessed as part of the rapid condition survey of Exmoor’s Listed Buildings 2018-19. They received a BAR score of 6. [7]