Description

SHEEPSTOR
SX 56 NE
18/106 Yeo Old Farmhouse
-
- II*

Unoccupied farmhouse now in use as shippon. Dated 1610. Part rendered stone rubble
walls. Gable ended slate roof. One rubble stack at left gable end.
Plan: L-shaped plan originally with 2 equal-size rooms to front range probably with
central passage which led to a stair turret at the rear. To the right of the stair
projection is 1-room plan wing, unheated on ground floor, probably service room.
The 2 principal front rooms were both heated by gable end fireplaces and the 3 1st
floor rooms were also all heated. The house is likely to have been abandoned in the
later C19 or early C20 and the rooms of the front range were knocked into one room
for use as a shippon with store above.
Exteior: 2 storeys. Symmetrical 3-window front with central gabled 2 storey porch
and small gables over 1st floor windows. Windows all original chamfered granite
mullion windows, 3-light to the 1st floor, 4-light to the ground floor. The porch
has a 4-centred granite arched doorway with broad chamfer and square hoodmould,
carved in its spandrels is the date 1610 and the initials I.W.T. 4-centred arched
granite inn er doorway to porch. Above the outer doorway is a small granite framed
recess, now empty, the purpose of which is unclear. Wing at rear of right-hand side
is partially reduced in height and also retains its granite mullion windows. In the
angle of its inner face is the stair turret which has a parallel roofline to the
front range and a 2-light granite mullion window.
Interior: Although the internal partitions have been removed from the front range
and the ceiling has been renewed the original fireplaces survive on each floor with
chamfered granite jambs and lintel, one of the 1st floor fireplaces has a wooden
lintel. The original staircase has been removed. One original roof truss survives
with curved feet , morticed cranked collar and threaded purlins.
This building is important for two reasons; small early C17 gentry houses such as
this of one build are unusual in Devon and this is a particularly early example of a
completely symmetrical facade. Furthermore this facade is perfectly preserved and
the main fabric of the house, despite the removal of some internal features, is
intact and has no significant additions.

Listing NGR: SX5511066951

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17536917

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)