Description

SS 72 SW BISHOP'S NYMPTON

5/5 East Radley and outbuilding
- adjoining at west

GV II

Farmhouse. Late medieval origins with rebuilding or extension of the C17 and some
early C19 refurbishment. Whitewashed plastered cob on stone rubble footings, right
end wall of main range stone rubble; thatched roof, with plain ridge, gabled at ends,
replaced with corrugated iron over adjoining outbuilding at the west; south east wing
with a slate roof, hipped at the south end; end stacks to thatched range, the right
end stack projecting, axial stack - all with brick shafts.
Plan: L plan. The present plan of the south-facing main range consists of 3 rooms
and a cross passage, with an outbuilding adjoining at the left (west). A front right
(south-east) 1 room plan wing adjoins the house, projecting to the front; rear
outshut encloses rear stair projection. Complex evolution. The house originated as
a late medieval open hall, the late medieval roof with sooted timbers is visible in
the outbuilding and originally extended further west, into the outbuilding, than it
does at present, the truncated ridge having been re-supported on an C18 main truss.
The remainder of the outbuilding has an early/mid C17 jointed cruck roof
construction. Presumably the lower end of the medieval house, including the passage,
has been reduced to an outbuilding, the 2 left hand rooms of the present house
probably the hall and parlour of the medieval house which was extended at the higher
end in the C17 with a new passage created, out of the hall, possibly in the C19.
Thus a medieval core exists at the west end of the range and the house developed
eastwards, with the lower end reduced to the status of an outbuilding. The old inner
room has a stair projection on the rear but a C19 axial passage, parallel to the rear
wall, has reduced the depth of the inner rooom and the stair turret now opens off the
axial passage. The right end room appears to be a C17 kitchen with some evidence
that the first floor had a semi-industrial use.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 4 window front to the house with a C20 porch and
half-glazed front door to the cross passage, flanked by 16-pane early C19 sashes with
a 3-light C20 timber window to the right; 4 first floor C19 2-light small pane
casements. The inner return of the wing has a door to the left, a small pane C19 2-
light first floor casement and a 3-light ground floor C20 window. The outbuilding at
the left end of the main range has a blocked doorway to the right, a blocked doorway
and window to the left and a loft door and door in the centre. A slate-capped stone
and cob wall divides the garden in front of the house from the yard in front of the
outbuilding.
Interior: The ceiling beams of the house are all C20 except for one, but a late C16
or C17 plank and muntin screen with straight cut stops survives between the present
passage and the hall (i.e. the former higher end partition), and the lower end
fireplace has a chamfered lintel and a bread oven. The fireplace of the right hand
room may be C19 with 2 bread ovens. A newel stair in the stair projection opens on
to a first floor lobby with chamfered doorframes and C17 doors. Chamfered crossbeams
survive in the outbuilding.
Roof: Sooted ridge, rafters, battens and purlins visible in the outbuilding at the
junction with the house, the ridge held on an C18 main truss. The remains of C17
jointed cruck trusses, designed without collars, survive further to the west in the
outbuilding. Over the east end of the house, above the C17 kitchen, there is no main
truss and the rafters, battens and ridge are slightly darkened. 2 neatly-shaped
posts project down from the roof structure into the roofspace, one is fixed by a
batten threaded through it, both have neatly-made round holes in the ends, possibly
for suspending something. A second pair of timbers, halved into the purlins, each
have a mortise in the centre and the post to the front of the ridge also has 2
neatly-made round holes, one at the top and one at the bottom. These features may
be associated with some sort of industrial use; they appear to be contemporary with
the roof structure.
An evolved house of medieval origins, group value with West Radley, on the opposite
side of the road.

Listing NGR: SS7357323250

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26401102

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

• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)