Description

HARTLAND
SS 22 SW

3/147 Spekes Valley Cottage
-

- II

Cottage. Possibly C16 remodelled in circa early to mid C17 extended in C19 and C20.
Plastered rubble and cob walls, apparently mainly cob at the rear. Thatch roof
gabled to left end and hipped to the right. Brick axial stack.
Plan: at present 3-room plan but both the outer rooms are additions. The larger
central room is heated by a fireplace at its right end. Evidence in the roof
suggests however, that this may have been inserted into an open hall previously
heated by a central hearth. This may have been a fairly late example of an open
hall judging by the light smoke-blackening in the roof but such a modest house would
quite likely have been built in an archaic form. It is possible that the house may
even be as late as early C17 and was floored over within about a generation of being
built. The small room added at the right end is probably C18 and likely originally
to have been a stable or animal house, it now has a staircase to the rear. The
purpose of the small outshot behind it is unclear. The addition at the left-hand
end was originally of one storey and probably a C19 dairy or similar service room,
it was raised to 2 storeys in the C20.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 4-window front of early and mid 1 and 2-light
C20 casements, all in small openings. C20 thatched roof open-fronted porch with C20
plank door behind. Similar door with glazed panel to left of centre. Rear
elevation has outshot to left of centre.
Interior: principal room has a wany chamfered cross-beam. The roof over the
central room consists of one pair of wany straight principal rafters with a small
triangular block at the apex joining the tops of the trusses which are not
themselves morticed to each other. The collar is simply lapped and pegged across
the principals. The whole roof, including battens and underside of the thatch is
lightly and evenly smoke-blackened. Later roof at either end.
This is an unusual survival of a 1-room plan early house.

Listing NGR: SS2362922777

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26459503

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

• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Shredded Chef: 120 Recipes for Building Muscle, Getting Lean, and Staying Healthy
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)