C18 Farmhouse and Barn at Julian Bower Farm

Summary

A farmhouse with an attached agricultural building, dating from the 18th century or earlier.

Reasons for Designation

The earlier farmhouse and attached agricultural building at Julian Bower Farm is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* a vernacular dwelling of at least C18 date, whose two-unit continuous outshut plan is well-preserved and legible;
* there is good survival of significant structural fabric, including mass walling, floor beams, fire beam, and original triangular-truss roof structures;
* it retains a range of historic internal fixtures and fittings, including floor slabs, stone dog-leg staircase, spice cupboards, chimneypieces, and early panelled doors with contemporary door furniture;
* the attached agricultural building is readily legible as a barn with hayloft, and its agricultural functions are well expressed within the historic fabric.

Historic interest:

* it is a good example of an evolved Westmorland farmstead, which contributes to our understanding of regional diversity and local vernacular style and materials.

History

As a location, Julian Bower is thought to be of considerable age. The Cumbria Historic Environment Record (HER 4939) notes that it was ‘famous for its being the residence of Julian, mistress of Roger de Clifford, about the beginning of the reign of Edw III.’ The Pembroke memoirs describe the site as ‘a little house hard by Whinfell Park, the tower foundations of which standeth still, though all the wall be down long since.’ The HER also notes that earthworks immediately south-east of the present buildings at NY 60302632 are thought to be part of these earlier remains.

This farmhouse and attached agricultural building are at least C18 in date and have contemporary and later fixtures and fittings. Evidence for the existence of a formerly more extensive linear plan-form suggests that the farmhouse may be earlier than the C18, and of long-house derivation.

The present buildings are present on the first edition 1:10,560 Ordnance Survey (OS) map surveyed in 1859. They are depicted in their current form complete with rear outshut. This map also depicts the present buildings as extending further to the east by an attached range set at a slight angle to the east gable of the farmhouse. By the time of the second map revision of 1893 this east range had been removed and replaced by a large farmhouse. In the late C20, the room in the eastern part of the rear outshut was converted to a utility room/cloakroom for the attached later farmhouse, and is accessed through a door in the party wall.

Details

Farmhouse with attached agricultural building, C18 or earlier.

MATERIALS: local sandstone, rendered; graduated Welsh slate roof to the farmhouse, and stone slabs to the barn.

PLAN: continuous outshut plan farmhouse with attached barn and hayloft over.

EXTERIOR: the farmhouse has two storeys and three bays beneath pitched roofs of Welsh slate. There is a left gable chimneystack, and large, prominent quoins to all corners. The south elevation, which bows slightly, has an off-centre entrance fitted with a four-panel door, and a three-light mullioned window to the left and a former two-light mullioned window to the right. The first floor has three regularly spaced two-light mullioned windows, one with a missing mullion. All windows are set within flush painted ashlar stone surrounds, and all are boarded over. The rear elevation is a continuous two-storey outshut that is prominently quoined. This has a large off-centre original opening with long and short quoins, and to its left there is a rectangular stair window (lower part blocked) indicating the position of the staircase; beneath this there is evidence of a blocked entrance. At either end of the elevation there is a rectangular window to each floor, the ground floor left with a uPVC frame.

Attached to the west gable of the farmhouse is a two-storey agricultural building beneath a shallower pitched roof of stone slates, forming a former byre with hay loft over. The south elevation has a pair of small, two-light timber mullioned windows just beneath the eaves, and a ground-floor rectangular opening beneath a timber lintel. The left return has a first-floor door reached by a set of stone steps, and beneath this is a wide vehicular opening created by widening an original quoined opening. The rear elevation has a secondary lean-to outshut with a clear butt joint in the stonework. This is entered through a formerly wider entrance with a timber lintel. Within this outshut a second pair of timber mullioned windows are visible just below the eaves of the original north wall of the byre/hayloft, also indicating that the outshut is a secondary feature.

INTERIOR: the farmhouse main entrance opens into a cross passage that terminates at a crude opening in the thickness of the original rear wall, the latter now giving access to the rear outshut and stair. A six-panel door opens into the firehouse on the left side which contains the original full-length inglenook. The firehouse has a stone slab floor, crudely plastered walls, and three chamfered ceiling beams. The former inglenook has a substantial fire beam (with meat hooks) which carried a fire hood, and a red sandstone chimneypiece of C18 date; this is fitted with a C19 cast-iron range complete with a pot crane with chains and hooks for suspending cooking implements. In the alcoves to either side there are C18 spice cupboards, both with single doors remaining. A probable blocked fire window on the original external north wall of the building has been converted into a third spice cupboard that retains its C18 moulded timber frame. This implies that the farmhouse outshut is secondary. Opening off the right side of the cross passage is an originally unheated parlour which retains a C19 timber chimneypiece fitted with an Edwardian tiled cast-iron grate. To the right, there is a large C18 corniced spice cupboard with panelled doors. The window opening retains a sliding sash frame with fine glazing bars.

The rear of the house comprises a continuous outshut comprising a central full-height stone-built stair hall with a narrow service room to either side. The left room contains a brick-built set-pot and a substantial red sandstone C18 chimneypiece. The right room has been converted by internal blockwork into a utility/cloakroom. The stair hall contains a stone dog-leg stair with stick balusters and newel posts with flat caps. The stair rises to the first floor, formerly lit by a now blocked stair window, with rooms opening off a small landing. These rooms have doors and architraves of three panelled C18 Westmorland form with contemporary door furniture. Two rooms have stone chimneypieces of probable C18 form. Where the outshut lean-to roof structure is visible it comprises a mixture of original historic timbers and sawn replacements. The roof structure above the main body of the house is visible viewed partially through a loft hatch; it is formed of waney triangular trusses with some replacement timbers.

The interior of the former byre and hayloft has an undercroft of historic waney roof supports with replaced rafters. The blocked window on the south wall is visible internally and has a waney timber lintel. The original triangular roof truss with double purlins, and a ridge piece remains. The building's original rear north wall has a pair of mullioned windows beneath the eaves identical to those on the visible south elevation. The added northern compartment is a small plain space with a half triangular truss roof structure and replaced purlins.

Sources

Books and journals
Brunskill, RW, Traditional Buildings of Cumbria (2002),

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