Details
COLESHILL
SU2393
Courtleaze Farm
6/70 Buildings and attached
gatepiers and rickyard
walls
GV
II*
Model farm for Coleshill House, now workshops, store rooms and offices.
c1850-54 for the 2nd Earl of Radnor; designed by E.W. Moore (agent to the
Earl), plans drawn by G. Lamb, builders W. Pedley followed by E. Streeter.
C19 and C20 alterations; converted late C20 for the National Trust.
Rubblestone with ashlar dressings; red brick, some with blue brick headers
in Flemish bond, some in rat trap bond. Stone slate roofs survive to sheep
yard buildings and workshops; otherwise Welsh slate, some replaced by
corrugated asbestos.
The plan of the farm makes use of the sloping and split-level site, and was
worked progressively from the higher to the lower levels (ie from east to
west). At the east end is a large rick yard, having a subterranean wagon
house at its north-west corner; along south side a workshop range for
wheelwright, mason and sawyer; across its west end a long range comprising
from north to south, sheds; root and straw store with barn over; nag stable
and gig house with bailiff's office, wool room and carpenters' workshop over
(this section now National Trust offices). To west of this range are 2
yards, the north yard being the former poultry yard; the south yard divided
into a cowyard (to west) and stable yard (to east). Each yard is surrounded
by buildings. The poultry yard on the north side has a range of stables,
tool store and shoeing shed, and forge and kitchen with boys room over; on
the west side are cattle sheds fronted by yards, with a fatting cattle range
behind; on the south side is the piggery range and straw barn with granary
over (which is attached to the root store/barn). The piggery range forms
also the north side of the cow yard, having pig yards on that side; the west
side of the cow yard is a bull house with the cattle fatting range behind;
and on the south side is a range of dairy cow stalls and cow boxes with calf
pens and hay house at east end. To west of the poultry and cow yards and
the adjoining buildings is a sheep yard. This has a covered manure pit to
the centre of the east side, and opposite this a fatting sheep house from
which open-fronted sheds extend to line the rest of the curve-cornered yard.
There are entrances into the poultry yard at its north-east corner with
gatepiers on roadside attached to rickyard walls; to the stable yard on the
south; and to the sheep yard at the south-west corner. Food was taken from
the main root store/barn to the animals by means of a tram system which
utilised the sloping ground.
The farm buildings which are built of stone have quoins; chamfered quoined
surrounds to openings, the windows with chamfered mullions and small-pane
glazing; moulded kneelers; stone copings with finials; and stone ridges.
The brick buildings have segmental brick-arched openings. The open-fronted
sheds have iron columns on chamfered padstones.
The Rickyard walls are approximately 2 metres high with stone coping; there
are 2 entrances on the east side, into which the walls curve ending in brick
quoins; there are steps down to the lower-level road at the south-west
corner and into the lower poultry yard at the north-west corner; the
workshop range is partly open-fronted; the subterranean wagon house has 5
brick round-arched entrances to barrel-vaulted chambers and lean-to sheds
against west side. The root store/barn has slit vents in north gable; board
doors and windows of 2 and 3 lights to east and west sides; attached engine
house of brick in rat-trap bond on east side; and louvred octagonal turret
with swept metal spire and weather vane. The straw barn/granary is in
similar style; as also the nag stable and gig house office/workshop over,
although this now has some late C20 glazed doors, it also has a glass-roofed
ridge louvre, a brick stack and a stone stack, and to its south (road) side
three 3-light windows with hoodmoulds. The stable range (on north side of
poultry yard) is possible older, surviving from a previous, C18, model farm
on the site; it is of rubblestone with brick dressings; of 4:1:4 bays having
single-storey wings flanking taller central gabled bay with attic; and
having alternately doors and windows, the wings with ridge louvres; 2 ashlar
stacks. The adjoining range (to east) formerly had open-fronted tool shed
and shoeing bays, these now with C20 horizontal boarding, doors and windows.
The former forge and kitchen block is of brick in Flemish bond with stone to
the more visible rear and right return elevations; it has blocked door and
window on left, door on right, and central ashlar ridge stack. The cattle
shed yards on west side of poultry yard are brick-walled, the sheds open-
fronted. The piggery range is of brick in rat-trap bond, it has glass-
roofed ridge louvres; the 6 pig yards on the south side have low round-
topped brick walls and round-arched entries into boxes behind. The dairy
cow range is also of brick, with similar ridge louvre, but its more visible
south (road) side is of stone with 2-light windows and central gabled bay.
The gateways into poultry yard, stable yard and sheep yard have square
ashlar piers with chamfered piers, strings, moulded pyramidal capstones, and
board gates. In the sheep yard the covered manure pit has superstructure
comprising low brick wall on stone plinth carrying iron columns which
support hipped roof. Behind it, the range of fatting cattle boxes has
continuous ridge louvre. The sheep fatting house is of 3:1:3 bays, having
single-storey wings flanking central 2-storey gabled bay. Some sections of
the originally open-fronted attached sheds have been walled across.
Interiors: some traces of tramways. Roofs have wooden braced king-post
trusses, except for the root store/barn which has collared queen-post
trusses, the posts set well apart to give good clearance. Some machinery
gearing survives in the barn.
Advanced features of this model farm were the large pig-fattening unit
designed with central feeding access; such large-scale provision for sheep;
the steam boilers for preparing feed; the covered midden; the tramway system
with turntable unit linking side feed passages to the central store; the
slatted floor originally in the fatting sheep house; and the ventilation of
the granary through wall gratings.
The Builder, xii (1854), pp 653-5.
National Trust leaflet, Coleshill Model farm (1985).
E. J. Weller, Coleshill Model Farm, Oxfordshire. Past, Present, Future
(1980).
Listing NGR: SU2353193562
