Description

LUPPITT
ST 10 SE
10/47 Lower Shelvin Farmhouse
-
- II
Farmhouse. Probably late C15 - early C16 with major later C16 and C17 improvements,
renovated in the late C19 at which time the service/kitchen end was rebuilt. The
older part is plastered local stone and flint rubble, the late C19 section is
exposed stone rubble with brick dressings; stone rubble stacks topped with C19 and
C20 brick; slate roof, the older part was formerly thatch.
Plan and development: 4-room-and-through-passage plan house facing south-east. The
service end is at the left (south-west) end and contains a kitchen with an axial
stack backing onto a small unheated dairy at the end. The other side of the passage
is the hall and it has an axial stack backing onto the passage. A stair turret
projects to rear of the hall. At the right (north-east) end is a former parlour
(now a workshop) with a gable-end stack.
The service end kitchen and dairy was completely rebuilt in the late C19 but the
rest is well-preserved. The roof was not available for inspection at the time of
this survey although the owner claims that it is smoke-blackened proving that the
hall at least was open to the roof and heated by an open hearth fire. The hall
stack was probably inserted in the mid-late C16. The parlour was refurbished or
added in the early C17. The parlour and hall were once separated by a buttery or
cellar but the partition between hall and buttery/cellar has been removed to enlarge
the hall. The hall was floored over in the mid C17. 2 storeys.
Exterior: irregular 5-window front of late C19 and C20 casements with glazing bars
and including, ground floor right end (to the former parlour), an early C17
Beerstone 4-light windows with ovolo-moulded mullions and hoodmould. The passage
front doorway is left of centre and contains a late C19 door behind a contemporary
gabled porch. The main roof is gable-ended and steps down from the kitchen to the
passage sections.
Interior: the service end, below the passage and containing the kitchen and dairy,
is a complete late C19 rebuild. The hall fireplace is blocked but is probably
intact. The crossbeams here are mid C17, chamfered with bar run-out stops, in the
hall section proper whilst half beams in the former buttery/cellar are chamfered
with roll stops. The stair to rear of the hall is mid C17. It is a straight flight
with turned oak balusters. In the former parlour the crossbeams are plastered over.
Here there is a good Beerstone ashlar fireplace with Tudor arch head, moulded
surround and carved fern-like spandrels. The roof was not available for inspection
at the time of this survey but the farmer's description suggests that the original
roof structure survives and that it is some form of cruck construction maybe with
arch braces and windbraces. It is also said to be smoke-blackened from the original
open hearth fire.
Lower Shelvin is an interesting multi-phase farmhouse with consistently high quality
features. A full internal examination, including the roof, will probably throw more
light on the early historic development of the farmhouse.

Listing NGR: ST1608504559

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26440679

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

• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)