Site record MDR23043 - Site of Northern Building, Home Farm, Coach Road, Ripley

Former site of northern building, Home Farm, Coach Road, Ripley, an early 19th century building. Parts of the building that survived were photographed and described in 2016, although most of the building had been demolished between 2007 and 2010: 'Building D originally constituted the northern wing of the former U-shaped configuration, although it was substantially demolished in the late 20th to early 21st centuries. The assigned code corresponded to a remaining portion attached to Building C. Unfortunately this has also been destroyed in recent times between 2007 and 2010 as indicated by Google Earth satellite imagery. The only surviving structural elements are the two gable walls both of which are abutted by the corresponding Buildings A and C and their joint consists of clear vertical lines. The western wall contains a decorative diamond-shaped vent within the gable wall. This type of vent is a typical feature of barns which often dates to the 18th century. Simple row of slits or half-brick holes are often a later design of 19th century date. Beneath the vent there is an opening with a segmental arched head, some sandstone jamb blocks and a sandstone sill / threshold, which may have been used as a hay-loft. A series of slots were observed lower down which would have accommodated a series of timber beams for an upper floor. The slots appear to have been later insertions as indicated by the irregular manner in which they have been produced. The insertion of an upper floor in one side of a traditional barn was a common practice from the mid 19th century and more frequently towards the end of that period. The inserted floor might have been used to take the chaff cutter for grains, as feed preparation for livestock grew from the 1840s. Thus it is likely that the central doorway may have also been a later addition, although this was not ascertained with certainty. The construction breaks and the openings on each gable wall imply that Building D was initially a free-structure, most likely a threshing barn. The earliest cartographic record of this range is the 1825 Greenwood's map showing an L-shaped configuration formed by Buildings C and D. The 1848 Tithe map shows further developments including the addition of Building A forming a U-shaped configuration although the eastern wing (Building C) is shorter than its counterpart western wing (Building A). The central part of Building D is depicted with two short projections towards the north and the south which may have consisted of porch canopies for opposed doorways typically seen amongst threshing barns. This may have changed function as late 19th century OS editions illustrate the central area modified with a bay window along the northern wall and a possible external staircase along the southern side. Building D forms part of the 19th century farmstead complex which is of some local historic and architectural significance.' (1) According to Google imagery (Google Earth) dating to 2017, the portion of the building described above had been demolished.