Barn at Kilford Farm

Cadw's description

Location

Located within the farmyard immediately to the NE of the farmhouse.

History

Second-quarter C19 barn range built following the demolition of Lleweni Hall, the former seat of the illustrious Salusbury family, in 1816-18. Although principally of brick, the barn incorporates limestone walling material, some dressed sandstone and various lintel sections of timber mullioned windows, all of which were presumably reused from Lleweni. Of chief significance are the presence, in the eastern-most section of the range, of three hammerbeam trusses (the hammerbeams themselves lost), together with 2 partition trusses of queen post type. These are clearly also reused from Lleweni, which is known to have had a particularly fine and important late medieval hammerbeam roof, probably built by either Sir Thomas Salusbury (d.1505) or his father. The surviving trusses, stripped of windbraces, brattishing, cusping and other decorative detail known to have been present, nevertheless still give a remarkable sense of the scale and majesty of what is regarded as having been the most impressive of north Wale's medieval Great Halls. In another part of the barn range a complete gable frame has been reused, with all save the wall posts, tie-beam and struts removed; the mortising evidence clearly shows this to have originated as a substantial external wall frame.

Exterior

Long agricultural range orientated W-E. The range consists of a brick-built main section with cross-gabled throughpassage to the centre, and a contemporary 6-bay barn adjoining flush to the E; continuous slate roof, with corrugated iron sheeting to the western section. The eastern section is of limestone rubble including some rough-dressed blocks, and has a brick E gable apex having an incorporated dovecote with nesting niches in 5 tiers; large modern entrance to this. The S side has 4 square openings to the upper wall, with wooden frames made up from former lintel and sill sections; large modern entrance to L with expressed timber lintel. The brick main section has large open central entrances with gables over and 3 flanking entrances to either side; ventilators in decorative lozenge groupings to the N and S sides of the central section. The left-hand section is whitened.

Interior

The eastern, stone-built section has a 5-bay roof with 3 re-used former hammerbeam trusses, together with a queen-post former dais-end partition truss at the W end. The main trusses have lost their hammerbeams, braces and wall posts, and have tie-beam insertions; some re-used purlins, and evidence for former windbracing to the principals. The southern entrance gable to the main barn section has a re-used wall frame with queen-post truss.

Reason for designation

Listed for its special interest as a second-quarter C19 barn incorporating material from the former medieval seat of the Salusburys, Lleweni Hall, most notably 3 hamber-beam principals reused from the great hall.