Grain Ridge, including garden building to the north, Brewood, Staffordshire

Summary

Former malthouse, C18, converted to a dwelling in the 1930s.

Description

Former malthouse, C18, converted to a dwelling in the 1930s.

MATERIALS: red brick laid in Flemish garden wall bond, with tiled roofs and brick chimneystacks.

PLAN: Grain Ridge and the Old House (Grade II) are a linear range running approximately east-west, set back from the north side of Sandy Lane.

Grain Ridge is has a main range of four bays, then at the east the building line steps forward to a wide fifth bay, behind which is a further wing at the north-east corner. Set over three floors, it appears to be an example of the Newark type of maltings. The Old House stands adjacent to the west.

To the north, in the grounds of the building, is a former agricultural building, converted to a summer house.

EXTERIOR: the principal elevation faces south, and consists of a four-bay range on the left, and a wide projection on the right. On the ground floor of the four bay range there are two pairs of casement windows to the left, and a single casement on the right. Most windows have diamond-leaded glazing. A doorway has been inserted in between; it is a ledge and plank construction with decorative nail heads and strap hinges, set within timber jambs. There is an open-sided, half-hipped porch supported on square timber posts. On the first floor are three oriel windows and a single casement to the right. There is a dentil cornice at the eaves, as on the Old House. The roof is pitched, with a half-hip on the east end. The brick arches of the original malthouse window openings are visible in the masonry. The rear elevation of the main range has an inserted doorway on the ground floor and a three-light casement above. The small window to the right represents an original opening, beneath a rough brick arch. Two tall square chimneystacks have been built on the elevation, and a lean-to sunroom has been added on the right.

At the south-east end of the main range the building line steps forward beneath a catslide roof, and the 1724 date stone protrudes at the base. It is lit from the south by a row of four casements within a wide opening with a brick soldier-course lintel. Above, the eaves and dentil cornice are interrupted by a four-light dormer with a hipped roof. The east return elevation has chimneystack with a deep projection at the base, possibly representing the heat source of the original malting kiln; it has inserted window openings on either side. Three windows have been inserted at eaves level.

The north-east wing is two storeys with a pitched roof, and like the main range, has a dentil cornice. There is a doorway within a segmental arched opening on the north gable end. The adjacent window, with its flat lintel of brick headers, is presumed to be an insertion. The east elevation has inserted windows on both floors, and the west elevation has been built upon with an outshut extension, added in the late-C20.

INTERIOR: the building was subdivided in its conversion to a dwelling in the 1930s. The main range is likely to have originally been a single open space, and now has a partition approximately half way along, creating, on the ground floor, a dining hall in the middle of the building, and a lounge to the west. Transverse beams with axial joists support the first floor; the former are chamfered and have lamb’s tongue stops. Fireplaces were inserted as part of the conversion. The east end of the building has a living room and WC within the southern section, and a kitchen to the north. Between the kitchen and sitting room a wide segmental arched opening has been blocked. There is a large inglenook on the east end wall, with a modern fireplace. The bressumer – a reused timber – is built into the masonry and has wedge corbels. The kitchen and utility is in the northern wing, with the shower room added on one side.

A dog-leg stair rises from the dining hall within a large opening in the first floor; this floor, with timber boarding, was likely used for grain storage. The stair emerges on a large landing with a gallery above the stair well. There is a bedroom to the west; two more bedrooms occupy the south east end, and there is one within the north-east wing. This latter room has a substantial truss; its tie beam has been removed, and its raking queen posts truncated and attached to an inserted collar.

The attic above the main range is reached by a ladder hatch; this is partially enclosed by boarding, possibly the edges to a former bin. The attic has a lime ash floor; there are two hatches for the vertical movement of material, and at the west end is a hoist. The roof structure consists of raised crucks which have been truncated part way up, tied together by collars. There is a very deep purlin on either side, with vacant mortises on the upper face, probably related to an earlier roof structure.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: to the north is a garden building, adapted from an earlier agricultural structure. It is rectangular on plan, of a single storey and attic, with a pitched roof. The south elevation has two doorways in cambered arched openings, with a small, multi-light window in between, also in an arched opening. The rear elevation has a series of insertions: centrally, a full height opening with double doors and glazing above, and a pair of casement in flat-arched openings to either side. There is a similar window in the west gable end, and an arched opening at attic level in the east gable. The end elevations have gable parapets and brick kneelers. Internally the building is open to the roof – a hay loft floor appears to have been removed in the conversion to a garden building.

History

The Old House and Grain Ridge are likely to originate in the C18. A date stone inscribed ‘1723’ protrudes from an elevation of the latter, though may have been repositioned. The building complex is an example of a maltings with an attached dwelling house, with ancillary structures to the rear.

The first map evidence for the building dates from 1808. The Tithe map of 1838 shows the building more clearly, with its irregular linear plan, and then the 1884 Ordnance Survey shows that by that stage, the building had been developed almost to the extent it exists today, except for the lean-to conservatory and out-shut shower room at the rear of Grain Ridge.

Grain Ridge originated as a maltings, and appears to be contemporary with the main range of the Old House (also listed at Grade II). Malting was common in Staffordshire, and Brewood was well-placed logistically, with the Shropshire Union Canal 400m to the south-west. The site, too, was advantageous, having access to water via a well, which survives in the cellar of the Old House. Grain Ridge was converted to a dwelling, probably between 1937 and 1945. Although the main elements of the structure have survived, some features necessary for processing barley into malt have been lost. The east end of the building is presumed to have housed the malt kiln, and probably the steep. The perforated clay flooring tiles have been removed (remnants survive in the gardens of the two houses). The main range of the principal elevation originally had two small arched windows to each floor; the domestic conversion involved enlarging those openings and the insertion of additional windows; the leaded glazing and first floor oriels is in the manner of the cottage ornee. The building, previously only accessible from the rear, also had a doorway inserted in the front of the main range. On the rear two tall chimneystacks were added, and on the east, the large inglenook had side lights inserted.

To the rear of Grain Ridge there is a brick garden building. This appears to have been adapted from a cow house first shown on the Tithe map.

Reasons for Listing

Grain Ridge is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a structure dating from the C18 which retains a significant proportion of its historic fabric;
* despite the conversion to a dwelling, Grain Ridge retains evidence of its original use, most notably in the internal timber structure which retains hatches and hoppers for moving grain, the lime ash loft floor and hoist, and the copper roofing above the former kiln;
* the general plan of the malthouse, with the grain floors in the main range and kiln and ancillary facilities in the east, remains legible.

Historic interest:

* the building complex provides historic information about the development of maltings prior to their industrialisation and enlargement in the C19;
* located in a part of the country closely associated with the development of the industry, and reflective of the relative prosperity of the enterprise.

Group value:

* with the adjoining house, listed at Grade II, built contemporaneously.

External Links

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