Saighton Lane Farm is a farm, originating as a

model farm A demonstration farm, or model farm, is a farm which is used primarily to research or demonstrate various agricultural techniques, with any economic gains being an added bonus. Demonstration farms are often owned and operated by educational instit ...

, in Saighton Lane, to the north-northeast of the village of

Saighton Saighton (; ) is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Aldford and Saighton, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, a few miles south of Chester. The 2011 Census ...

, Cheshire, England. The farmhouse and the farm buildings are recorded separately in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

as designated Grade II

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

The farm was built in 1888–89 as a model farm for the 1st Duke of Westminster on his Eaton Hall estate and designed by the Chester firm of architects

Douglas and Fordham John Douglas (11 April 183023 May 1911) was an English architect who designed over 500 buildings in Cheshire, North Wales, and northwest England, in particular in the estate of Eaton Hall. He was trained in Lancaster and practised throu ...

Architecture

The farmhouse is built in brown brick with

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

dressings and

diapering Diaper is any of a wide range of decorative patterns used in a variety of works of art, such as stained glass, heraldic shields, architecture, and silverwork. Its chief use is in the enlivening of plain surfaces. Etymology For the full etymolo ...

in blue brick and some

timber framing Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

. It has a red tile roof. The plan consists of a main wing facing Saighton Lane and two separate wings at the rear, forming a U-shape. The building has two storeys plus attics. The main front has three bays with timber framing in its upper storey and attic. The central bay projects forward towards the lane and contains a porch. In its lower storey is a three-light

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

ed casement window on the left and the porch, which is recessed and framed, is on the right. The upper storey contains a three-light window and in the

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

above it is a two-light window. Around these windows is timber-framed

panelling Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity to make roo ...

. The frames over the porch contain the inscriptions "The profit of the earth is for all; the King himself is served by the field", and "Every house is builded by some man, but he that built all things is God", the latter being a text taken from the ''

Epistle to the Hebrews The Epistle to the Hebrews ( grc, Πρὸς Ἑβραίους, Pros Hebraious, to the Hebrews) is one of the books of the New Testament. The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle. Most ...

''. The lateral bays each have a mullioned window in the ground floor. The return to the left of the main front has a gable containing a window and timber-framed panelling. There are three brick chimney stacks. One rises from the right return and has a

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

and three flues with twisted brickwork; another rises from the rear of the main wing and is similar, with four flues. The third chimney stack at the rear of the left wing is plain. Together with the farmhouse, the farm buildings form three sides of a quadrangle, open towards the lane. There are two two-storey wings, one opposite the farmhouse, the other at the rear, and a smaller single-storey wing behind the farmhouse. The upper storey of the wing opposite the house has timber framing in the upper storey; otherwise the buildings are in brown brick with blue brick diapering. In the gable at the end of the wing opposite the farmhouse facing the lane is a two-light mullioned window surrounded by panelling. Douglas submitted his design for this building and for Wrexham Road Farm at the Royal Academy in 1888. The authors of the ''

Buildings of England The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of Great Britain and Ireland. Begun in the 1940s by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the original Buildings of England series were publish ...

'' series describe this model farm as "a particularly nice one".

References

{{Reflist, 30em Grade II listed buildings in Cheshire John Douglas buildings Houses completed in 1889 Farms in England Model farms Grade II listed agricultural buildings Grade II listed houses Farmhouses in England

History

Architecture

See also

References