Summary

Former farmhouse, built in the C17 or early C18 and later extended to the west.

Description

Former farmhouse, built in the C17 or early C18 and later extended to the west.

MATERIALS: constructed of granite rubble and with a pitched concrete-tile roof with three chimney stacks, two granite and one rendered.

PLAN: a linear footprint orientated east-west.

EXTERIOR: the linear range has two storeys. The four-window south (front) elevation consists of the original three-window phase, including an entrance with a plank door with applied ribs, and a later single-window bay to the left. There are stone quoins at either end of the building and at the join marking the end of the original house where there is also a buttress. The ground-floor windows in the older part have segmental arches, and there are early-C18 timber casements with moulded mullions and leaded panes in the right-hand windows and the window above the entrance. The windows to the left of the entrance consist of a ground-floor three-light timber casement and a first-floor C20 metal-framed window. The later west-end bay has a ground-floor two-light six-pane timber casement with a large granite lintel, and a first-floor four-pane timber casement. The cills in this elevation are granite and slate. The eastern gable end has a small ground-floor two-pane timber-casement window. The ground-floor of the western gable end is partially obscured by the adjacent bank but has a small first-floor timber window with leaded panes. The rear elevation faces into an enclosed courtyard and has an irregular fenestration of timber casements. Attached are two single-storey lean-tos with concrete-tile roofs; one provides access to the rear entrance into the cross passage. The house has two granite stacks with drip ledges, one at the east end and one an off-centre ridge stack (at the original west end), and a smaller rendered stack at the west end. There is a small flat-roof infill at the north-west corner which abuts 2 North Harton Cottage (2 North Harton Cottage is not included in the listing).

INTERIOR: the cross passage has ribbed-plank doors with strap hinges at either end. The room to the left of the passage has a chamfered ceiling beam and a substantial fireplace with a large timber lintel. Beyond is the later west-end bay which includes a reused two-panelled door, and a fireplace with large granite jambs and timber lintel. In the northern wall is a cupboard with a plank door which denotes the location of the former access to the rear wing. To the right of the passage is another heated room with a small cast-iron fireplace with brick surround. Also to the right is a later straight-flight staircase with stick balustrades. On the first floor are some early-C18 and later panelled doors. The feet of the earlier roof trusses survive in the first-floor rooms; above is a C20 king-post roof.

History

Higher North Harton Farmhouse was built in the C17 or early C18. It stands within the hamlet of North Harton on Dartmoor, next to the C16 Lower North Harton Farmhouse (listed Grade II). Higher North Harton was originally constructed as a two-storey, rubble-stone dwelling with a central cross passage and heated rooms either side, and probably originally with a thatched roof. In around the C18 or early C19, it was extended by a further heated bay to the west. The building appears on the Lustleigh tithe map (1839); the associated apportionment describes it as a homestead with garden. The map shows the main linear range and a short wing attached to the south-east side; this may have been a small lean-to, although it is not depicted on later maps. Also shown on the tithe map is a detached parallel northern range. In the 1840s a rear wing, possibly a dairy, was added to the north-west side of the house incorporating the west end of the rear northern range. During the C20, the roof structure of the southern range was replaced by a king-post roof with concrete tiles. In the latter half of the C20, the building was subdivided into two cottages; one cottage comprised the original three-window dwelling and the west-end first-floor bay, and the other cottage comprised the west-end ground-floor bay and the rear wing. At around this time the upper part of the rear wing was replaced by a flat-roof storey. By the C21 the west-end ground-floor bay was incorporated back into the southern range and this became known as 1 North Harton Cottage. The rear wing remained a separate dwelling known as 2 North Harton Cottage, and in 2004 it was redeveloped: the ground floor was altered, the upper floor was partially rebuilt and extended, and a new roof was added.

Reasons for Listing

1 North Harton Cottage, Dartmoor, Devon is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural and Historic interest:

* as a C17 or early-C18 former farmhouse which retains a good level of external and internal early fabric including C18 windows, ceiling beam, large fireplace, and doors;
* for retaining its original cross-passage plan and legible historic additions that reflect the building's changing domestic requirements.

Group value:

* it forms a good group with the C16 Lower North Harton Farmhouse (Grade II) to the west, and together they help to illustrate evolving vernacular building traditions in the region.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26459556

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

• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)