MEM23054 - Barton Town Farm (Monument)

The farmstead is shown on the Challacombe Tithe Map, although it is not clear how well the present buildings reflect the arrangement of the structures shown on the map. [1] The farmstead is shown on the 1st and 2nd Edition ordnance Survey maps apparently in their current arrangement. [2-4] The farmstead was visited in December 1996. It was described as a very good group, beautifully sited against the lane and below the churchyard from which it can be well seen. The buildings were noted to be from a range of dates, with a seemingly organic growth. It was noted to be "obviously an ancient place". [5] The farmstead was surveyed by English Heritage in 2000. The farmstead was described as originating as a small scale steading with vernacular buildings erected in the 17th and 18th Centuries, including a cottage (probably the farmhouse) and a barn with integral shippon. The second group of buildings date from the mid 19th Century when the farm increased in building and production scale and these include a large bank barn with shippon, an animal shed hosing pigs and/or calves and a new farmhouse. A horse engine house was added to the bank barn shortly after its construction. The buildings are all formed from stone rubble with slate roofs and are of great interest, due to the historical development of the buildings and the the range of agriculture practiced on the farm represented during the 18th and 19th Centuries, including hand and machine threshing and winnowing, hay, straw and grain storage and cattle and sheep rearing. [6]