Description

SX 69 SE SOUTH TAWTON SOUTH TAWTON

4/224 Blackhall Manor Farmhouse
22.2.67
GV II

Farmhouse, former manor house. C16 and C17, refurbished in the early C19.
Plastered walls, probably granite stone rubble, maybe with cob; granite stacks, all
with granite ashlar chimneyshafts with moulded coping; thatch roof.
Plan and development: L-shaped building. The main block faces south-east and is
built down a gentle slope. It has a 3-room-and-through-passage plan. Uphill at the
left (north-eastern) end the inner room has a gable-end stack. The hall has an
axial stack backing onto the passage and an early C19 stair turret projecting to
rear (maybe a rebuild of an earlier one). The service end room has a gable-end
stack. At the-left end an early C19 2-room plan block built at right angles
projecting forward from the inner room end. It was a new parlour block housing the
principal rooms with a central entrance hall and staircase and has a gable-end
stack. It is now used as a separate cottage. Since no internal inspection was
available at the time of this survey, it is not possible to outline the historic
development of the house here. Furthermore the main block was thoroughly (if
superficially) modernised in the early C19. Nevertheless the plan-form of the main
block is clearly C16 and therefore it was probably some type of open hall house,
maybe heated by an open hearth fire, originally. The fireplaces would have been
inserted and the house progressively floored over through the late C16 and C17.
House is now 2 storeys throughout.
Exterior: both ranges have symmetrical 3-window fronts arranged around a central
doorway. Most are early C19 16-pane sashes but the first floor windows of the main
block have been replaced by C20 horned 4-pane sashes. The doorway of the parlour
wing contains an early C19 6-panel door with a C20 thatch-roofed hood. The passage
front doorway of the main block contains a C19 plank door (so too does the rear
doorway) behind a C20 thatch-roofed porch on rustic posts. The roofs are gable-
ended and rear of the main block the eaves are carried down over the stair turret.
Interior was not available for inspection at the time of this survey. However most
of the joinery detail including both stairs is early C19. Nevertheless the layout
of the main block suggests that the carpentry and chimneystacks are C16 and C17.
Also the owners report some early panelling in the main block. Great care should be
exercised here during any building or modernisation work lest C16 or C17 features be
disturbed. It may have a smoke-blackened late medieval roof structure.

Listing NGR: SX6525694540

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26399919

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

• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair