Barton Hartshorn

108. BARTON HARTSHORN.

(O.S. 6 in. xvii. N.E.)

Ecclesiastical

(1). Parish Church of St. James, stands at the E. end of the village, and is built of stone rubble, with dressings of limestone. The roofs are tiled. The Nave was built probably in the 13th century; windows were inserted in the 14th and 16th centuries; the South Porch was added in the 18th century. The Chancel was re-built in the 19th century, when North and South Transepts were added to it and a bell-cot was erected over the W. end of the nave; the North Vestry and North Porch are also modern.

Architectural Description—The Chancel and Nave (63½ ft. by 14 ft.) are without structural division. The Chancel is entirely modern. The North and South Transepts are modern. The Nave has, in the N. wall, two square-headed windows, probably of the 16th century; the eastern window is of two lights, the western of one light: between them is the N. doorway with chamfered jambs possibly of the 14th century; the flat segmental head has been re-set and re-cut. In the S. wall are two windows, each of two trefoiled lights under a square head with an external label, all of late 14th-century date, except the head of the western window which is modern: between the windows is the S. doorway with chamfered jambs and moulded two-centred head; it is of the 13th century, but has been re-built. In the W. wall is a 13th-century lancet window, rebated for a shutter; below the window is a blocked doorway with chamfered jambs and four-centred head, probably of the 16th century. The North Porch and Vestry are modern. The South Porch is of the 18th century.

Fittings—Bells: two, inaccessible, said to be inscribed, 1st 'Jacobus est nomen ejus', 2nd 'Jhesupieflosmarie', both probably 14th-century. Communion Table: with turned baluster legs and slightly moulded rails, 17th-century. Door: In nave—in N. doorway, plain, with strap hinges, uncertain date. Plate: includes cup of 1570, with band of ornament round bowl, and moulded stem. Tiles: In vestry—six, 'slip', with brown pattern on yellow ground, 15th-century. Monuments: In churchyard—against S. porch, lying loose, (1) headstone to Peeter Paxton, 1673; in S. wall, near the gate, (2) headstone of 1700, rest of inscription illegible.

Condition—Good, but much ivy on E. wall.

Secular

(2). The Manor, house and cottage, S.E. of the church. The House is of two storeys with an attic and cellar, and is almost entirely modern, but incorporates part of a building, of roughly squared stone, and of 1635, the date on a gable. The roofs are tiled. The 17th-century plan was possibly of H or half-H shape, facing N., but all that remains of the original building is a projecting block at the N.W. corner of the present house, the staircase further E., and possibly the room, now the entrance hall, E. of the staircase; the N.W. block contains one room on each floor. The gabled N. Elevation has been much altered; the N. wall of the staircase is old, up to the first landing; in the cellar the staircase is lighted by a window with chamfered reveal and mullions. The W. Elevation has one gable, in which is a stone inscribed '1635. T.I.'; each floor is lighted by an original window of four, three, or two lights, with moulded reveal, mullions and label of stone; the windows of the cellar are similar, but the reveal and mullions are chamfered. In the return S. wall on each floor is an original window. Interior:—In the N.W. block, on the ground floor, is an original fireplace with a moulded four-centred head of wood and moulded jambs of stone; in the ceiling are two moulded beams. The entrance hall is paved with old stones, and the walls are lined with 17th-century panelling, re-set and made up with modern work; the ceiling-beams are moulded. The original staircase, from the cellar to the attic, has a close string, moulded handrail, turned double-ended balusters, and square newels which have sunk panels with debased trefoiled heads and square moulded finials. In the N.W. block, on the first floor, is a ceiling-beam similar to those on the ground floor.

The Cottage, in the grounds, about 200 yards W. of the house, is of two storeys and an attic, built of stone rubble, with additions of brick; the roofs are covered with tiles and slate. It is in two blocks, one running N. and S., the other at the N.W. angle, running E. and W., and is apparently part of an early 16th-century building much altered in the 18th and 19th centuries, when additions were made on the W. Each block has a separate roof and is gabled at the ends; many of the windows are original, and nearly all of them are of three lights, with four-centred heads, set in moulded square reveals, with moulded mullions and labels.

Condition—Of house, good; of cottage, fairly good; both much altered.

(3). King's End Farm, N.W. of the church, is a house of two storeys, built of stone in the 17th century, on an L-shaped plan; a later addition has been made in the angle between the wings. The roofs are tiled, but were formerly covered with stone slabs, of which a few still remain near the house. The large central chimney stack is original. Interior:—Some of the rooms have wide open fireplaces, partly blocked, and chamfered ceiling-beams.

A barn E. of the house is probably contemporary with it; the walls are of stone, partly weather-boarded; the roof is thatched.

Condition—Good.