Description

EXBOURNE EXBOURNE
SS 60 SW
Fir House
5/45 House
II
GV
House originally farmhouse. Circa 1500 with C17 alterations and C19 addition.
Rendered rubble and cob walls. Gable ended grouted slate roof, much lower at right-
hand end with corrugated iron sheeting. Axial plastered stone stack with dripcourse
and brick shaft. Brick lateral stack at rear.
Plan: Originally 3-room and through passage with lower end to the right; central
hearth to hall and open to the roof over hall and lower end. Inner room ceiled
although the original form of partition is unclear as there is no closed truss. In
the early-mid C17 the hall and lower end were ceiled and it is probable that the
front of the hall and passage were built out at this time from the rest of the
house. A hall stack was inserted backing onto the passage with an end fireplace to
tne inner room. In the C19 an outshut was built at the rear of the hall. A C20
addition connects the house to a small adjoining cottage at the left-hand end to the
rear.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 3-window front mainly of C20 2-light casements
with small panes. French window to left on ground floor. Early C19 16-pane sash to
left of centre in shallow projection with C16 cranked head chamfered wooden
doorframe to its right which has C20 plank door. To the right of this the wall is
recessed again. At rear is C19 outshut at centre.
Good interior with particularly high quality C17 features. The hall has an open
fireplace with chamfered granite jambs, the wooden lintel is obscured. At the
higher end is a plank and muntin screen with hollow chamfered muntins and head beam
above each plank, and hollow step stops. The framed hall ceiling is divided into 4
panels by fairly insubstantial deep chamfered beams. The inner room also has an
elaborate framed ceiling with moulded half beams around the edges and a central
moulded cross beam, forming two panels. In the corner of the room is an C18 wall
cupboard with arched head. The inner room fireplace is blocked. Several C17
panelled doors with central recessed panel survive - an unusual early form.
Roof: 4 original raised crucks survive. The higher hall truss and lower end truss
have high cranked collars, the latter is at a much lower level. The lower hall
truss has a collar at an odd angle, possibly through the roof having been raised.
These 3 trusses are all smoke-blackened. Over the inner room is a similar truss
without a collar which is clean.
The plain and uninformative exterior of this house belies a high quality interior
with a medieval core.

Listing NGR: SS6011302079

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26399315

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

• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)