Description

546/0/10023 ST IVES
21-MAY-10 Barn Low Park

II
Barn, used as an eyecatcher within the designed landscape of the St Ives Estate by Walker, then William Ferrand, early-mid C19.

MATERIALS: coursed shaped sandstone blocks, with stone dressings to openings, and dressed stone plinth to the front and first floor string course to the front and sides. Roof covering of stone slates, only partly surviving.

PLAN: the barn is a single rectangle with the partial stub of a former internal dividing wall extending from the rear wall. It has sockets for the support of a former first floor.

EXTERIOR: the main (south) elevation has an oversize doorway at either end, with two oversized window openings between, all with plain stone dressings but no doors or windows within. At first floor level is a wide stone plat band with four smaller square blind windows above. The right return (east side) has a continuation of the plat band and the remains of a first floor window opening towards the front: the upper level is ruinous. The left return (west side) has the plat ban and a single window high in the gable end. The rear wall is plain. Owing to the slope of the ground to the south, the rear elevation is considerably lower than the front. The roof is partial, surviving to the west end with some stone slates remaining, but almost entirely missing at the eastern end where the tops of the walls are also missing.

The Barn is situated on the southern side of Cuckoos Nest Wood, overlooking a parkland area identified as Low Park in the mid-late C19. The land slopes down to the Harden Beck, beyond which it rises again. Distant views of the barn from the south would give the impression of two cottages.

INTERIOR: the interior is a single open space, but has evidence of alterations. The blind first floor windows to the front do not show within, but some of the lower openings have wooden lintels. There are blocked doorways in each gable end towards the front, and a wooden lintel towards the rear of the west side indicates a further opening. Extending from the rear wall is a small stub of masonry indicating a former partition wall. A line of socket holes at first floor level along the rear wall indicate a former first floor. The roof timbers take the form of queen strut trusses with no collar, where they survive.

HISTORY: The date of construction of the barn is unknown, but a building on the site is shown on estate maps of 1817 and 1819. This is within the period of the first development of the landscape by Walker Ferrand between 1803 and 1837, though the use of the barn as a landscape feature may be later and relate to William Ferrand's development of this part of the estate as a park in the mid C19. A field boundary that extends from the front of the barn to the south-east in 1819 had gone by 1865, opening up the view from the valley below. Modern maps show the reinstatement of this boundary.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
The Barn in the St Ives Estate, used as an eyecatcher by the mid-C19, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architecture: the barn is an unusual example of the use of a prosaic building as an eyecatcher within a designed landscape, with outsized openings and blind windows giving the appearance of two cottages from a distance
* Planning: the barn is part of the designed landscape within a designated landscape, and as such is a small but significant element of the history of the development of the estate

Reasons for Listing

The Barn in the St Ives Estate, used as an eyecatcher by the mid-C19, is recommended for designation at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architecture: the barn is an unusual example of the use of a prosaic building as an eyecatcher within a designed landscape, with outsized openings and blind windows giving the appearance of 2 cottages
* Planning: the barn is part of the designed landscape within a designated landscape, and as such is a small but significant element of the history of the development of the estate

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26672961

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)