Description

NORTH MOLTON SS 72 NE 14/116 Higher Ley Farmhouse and barn and - shippon adjoining to east II Farmhouse and adjoining barn and shippon. House probably of c.1500, altered in the early to mid C17, with probably late C18 or early C19 partial rebuilding and addition. Minor probably late C19 alterations. Adjoining C18 barn and shippon. House with coursed stone rubble to ground floor and rendered cob to first floor, partly rebuilt and extended in coursed stone rubble. Projecting square bay with dressed-sandstone ground floor and rendered cob first floor. Rendered left-hand gable end and rear. Gable-ended C20 asbestos-slate roof. Stone square stacks with weatherings and C20 red-brick top stages. Barn with rendered cob on high coursed stone rubble plinth and gable-ended corrugated-iron roof. Shippon with uncoursed- stone rubble ground floor, corrugated-iron clad loft above and gable-ended corrugated-iron roof. Plan and development: Three-room and cross-passage plan, facing south (ground falls to right). Probably late Medieval open hall house, formerly consisting of hall (present kitchen) with projecting square bay to front, cross passage and service room to right and inner room to left. Probably formerly open to the roof (probably continuoulsy from end to end with rooms divided by low partitions). C17 alterations included the insertion of the first floor, the insertion of the axial stack in the hall backing onto the cross passage and the insertion of the axial end stack to the inner room. Staircase inserted at the rear of the cross passage, probably also in the C17. The projecting bay probably dates from the C17 phase of the house. Probably late C18 or early C19 one-roomed addition at the left-hand end, (see straight joint to rear). The front wall of the inner-room section was probably also rebuilt at the same time (note continuous masonry to the front wall, left of projecting bay). Eaves raised at some time (see cob below eaves), probably in the C18. Former cross-passage entrance blocked, probably in the late C19 (see red brick head to window inserted in opening). Door inserted in right-hand room probably at the same time, but possibly earlier. C18 barn and probably early C19 shippon added at right-hand end of house (see straight joints). Two-storey house and shippon of one-storey and loft. Exterior: Asymmetrically-fenestrated front, 5 windows to first floor and 3 to ground floor; mainly C19 two-light wooden casements with wooden lintels, except for left- hand ground-floor window with red brick flat-arched head and C19 window inserted in former cross-passage doorway (see straight joints beneath) with red brick segmental- arched head. Projecting square bay to hall has a hollow-chamfered plinth and small ground-floor squint in right-hand return, with deep splayed reveals. Name inscribed on front wall of bay, at cill level: "W. SLADER". Inserted C19 door to far right with wooden lintel. Small-paned ground-floor casement to bay. C19 half-glazed door between first and second windows from left, with red brick flat-arched head, probably formerly a window. C20 lean-to porch. Evidence at rear of former left-hand end stack (see area of roughly dressed masonry to right of straight joint). Adjoining barn has pair of boarded doors to centre with wooden lintel. Shippon to far right with boarded loft door to left, ground-floor C19 two-light wooden casement off- centre to right and 2 ground-floor boarded doors. Interior of house: Former hall (present kitchen) has C17 deep-chamfered spine beams and wall beams with runout stops, and moulded (beaded) joists between. Ground-floor bay with plastered soffit. Fine C17 bench along left-hand wall (running into bay) consisting of panelled back with moulded muntins running up to shaped ends, and elaborate bench-end to right consisting of 2 tiers of shaped projections. Cross passage with matchboarded dado and old door at foot of stair to rear. Former inner room to left with probably early C19 brick segmental-arched fireplace. Old floorboards. First-floor rooms and roofspace not inspected at time of survey (September 1987) but cruck truss (probably jointed) at left-hand end of hall noted. Barn has 4-bay roof with trusses consisting of principal rafters and collars, and 2 pairs of purlins. House formerly built into bank at rear, later excavated. No access to first-floor rooms and roof-space at time of survey.

Listing NGR: SS7598328765

External Links

• Wikidata Q26508943

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