Description

SS 72 SE MARIANSLEIGH

6/81 Yeo Farmhouse
(formerly listed as
20.2.67 Yeo Barton)
II*

Farmhouse. Late medieval origins, remodelled and possibly extended in the C17,
virtually unaltered since the C19. Colourwashed rendered cob and stone rubble; wheat
reed thatched roof, gabled at ends, with a plain ridge; end stacks and front lateral
stack, all with brick shafts.
Plan: L plan, the main range facing south, 3-rooms and a cross passage, lower end to
the left, hall heated by the front lateral stack, inner room to the right (east) with
a 1-room plan north-east wing at right angles to the inner room; rear outshut to main
range enclosing the rounded stair projection, outshut at left end. The house
originated as a high quality open hall with an arch-braced wind-braced roof. Without
access to the apex of the roof at time of survey (1987) it was difficult to judge
exactly the extent of the open hall but the visible roof timbers in the 2 central
bays of the house are smoke-blackened. Judging from the carpentry details the hall
was floored in the circa early C17; presumably the rear stair was added at the same
time. The rear right (north-east) wing is also C17; the function of the ground floor
room is puzzling, now used as a potato store, it is unheated but with good carpentry
details and a fine plank and muntin partition where it abuts the inner room - this
room was not seen at the time of survey but the partition wall with the wing suggests
a co-eval C17 date. A probably C18 service stair rises in the lower end kitchen,
parallel to the passage. The rear outshut is probably also C17, retaining an
unglazed mullioned window, the left end outshut - the back kitchen - is probably C19.
The rear of the cross passage has been partitioned-off creating a small room which
formerly served as a dairy. On the first floor the rooms still open into one
another: a small store room over the lower end was an apple store, this is reached
through one of the bedrooms. The C17 plan form is almost wholly intact and is an
essential part of this remarkably complete house.
Exterior: Very unspoiled. 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 4-window front, the lateral
stack to right of centre with an adjacent hall bay. C20 front door to the through
passage to left of centre; C19 or early C20 2-light timber casements with small
panes. The traditional wheat reed thatched roof, the wheat grown on the farm, is an
especially attractive feature of the house. The rear elevation has the thatch
carried down as a catslide over the rounded stair turret, now partly enclosed by the
slate roofed outshut which includes an unglazed 2-light mullioned window with a
chamfered frame and diagonally-set timber stanchions. The north-east wing has a
bitumen-painted slate roof, the right (east) side of the wing has a C20 plank door
and a 3-light first floor casement.
Interior: Remarkably well-preserved. Although some features have been covered by
C18 or C19 plaster very little of the C17 and earlier fabric has been removed. The
lower end kitchen has a deeply-chamfered step-stopped crossbeam, a timber bench in
the window and a partly-blocked fireplace probably concealing earlier jambs and
lintel. The service stair is screened in with a partition of wide planks with a door
at the bottom. The C17 door from the kitchen to the passage has been removed but is
still in the possession of the owners. The hall has a plastered-over crossbeam and a
1950s fireplace almost certainly concealing earlier jambs and a lintel. A C17 oak
panelled settle is built into the south-west corner of the room with an integral
cupboard within the back of the settle. The hall bench survives along the east wall
of the room, returning into the hall bay, along the east wall a splended panelled
bench back is preserved, crowned with a frieze of finely-carved Renaissance
arabesques and initials which appear to be WS. A substantial late C19 or Edwardian
fitted cupboard and chest of drawers is built into the west wall of the hall
reflecting its continued use as the grand room of the farmhouse at that date. The
inner room was not seen at the time of survey - there is a plank and muntin partition
between it and the wing, the muntins chamfered with scroll stops to the room in the
wing which has a chamfered scroll stopped crossbeam and a timber chamfered doorframe
into the outshut.
Like the ground floor, the first floor retains early wall plaster and is very
unaltered.
Roof: No access to apex at time of survey (1987) but smoke-staining is visible on
the purlins where the limewash has come off and a wind-braced arch-braced roof
construction, the arch braces chamfered, is visible in the centre of the house. The
feet of the truss in the apple store appear to be straight, as do the feet of the
trusses in the wing.
Yeo Farm is a wonderfully well-preserved example of a large-scale traditional Devon
farmhouse of medieval origins, rich in interior carpentry and joinery and with a fine
medieval roof. Unusual in having escaped unsympathetic alteration, every effort
should be made to ensure that future changes are kept to a minimum.

Listing NGR: SS7603123039

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17532266

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

• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
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  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
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  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
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  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2