Description

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 04/06/2020

SS 90 NW
5/115

THORVERTON
Traymill Farmhouse

5.4.66

II*
Farmhouse. Probably C15, remodelled in the C17. Volcanic stone rubble; thatched roof, gabled at ends; right end stack, rear lateral stack.

Plan and Development: the present range, on an east-west axis, contains the core of a very high quality late medieval open hall house, difficult to date owing to the rarity, in Devon, of its roof design. The medieval house was open at the left (west) end with a through passage to right of centre and a smaller, right end which may always have been storeyed or may have been unheated (roof timbers not sooted). The medieval structure is very complete including the doorways to the passage, the hall window and the roof structure. There is evidence of a former north-south crosswing at the left end of which one wall remains, embedded in a farm building. It is not clear whether this wing was co-eval with the main range. The flooring of the open hall is also difficult to date, carried on massive, rather rough axial beams (q.v. Old Court, Bickleigh). The right (lower) end has clearly functioned as a kitchen but some disturbance to the north east corner suggests the possibility that the range may have extended further to the east at some time. The extreme west end of the medieval building is now in use as a farm building and the right end room is subdivided into two.

Exterior: two storeys. Asymmetrical four window south front with a gabled trellis porch to the volcanic ashlar double chamfered two-centred arched doorway to the through passage. three-light timber casement windows with three or four panes per light. The north elevation, which may have been the original front of the medieval house has a similar chamfered stone doorway to the through passage as the south front. To the right of this doorway is the medieval hall window, a rare survival and evidence of the quality of the medieval building. It is a square-headed two-light transomed stone window with double chamfered jambs and cinquefoil-headed lights, relieving arch above. The sill of the window has been cut away when the opening was converted to a doorway. There are four first floor and two ground floor C20 casements with glazing bars and some evidence of possibly earlier blocked openings. The west gable wall includes a blocked window with an ogee-moulded surround on the exterior. The surviving wall of the old north-south cross wing retains a number of blocked openings.

Interior: the first floor of the west end (the former open hall) is supported on massive axial beams; chamfered axial beams support the first floor of the east end. The ground floor fireplaces have C20 grates and earlier features may be concealed behind modern plaster. Internally the medieval hall window has a splayed embrasure with a rounded segmental head with a hollow-chamfer along each side.

Roof: an outstanding medieval roof survives the full length of the range. There is an A-frame closed truss above the east partition of the through passage, the infill apparently inserted afterwards (Thorp). To the west of the closed truss there are six closely-spaced trusses (the sixth resting against the west gable) and two trusses to the east. The trusses are all identical but those to the west are heavily smoke blackened. The oak timbers of heavy scantling make up A-frames which sit on short hammer beams supporting unchamfered arch-braces. The central part of each collar descends to form the apex of the arch.The hammer beams are supported by small braces on stone corbels. At the east end the northern hammer beam has a tenon projecting from the end, possibly to hold some decoration (Thorp). There are three tiers of through purlins, a diagonally-set ridge and evidence of five common rafters in each bay, pegged over the ridge. There are also two sets of wind braces in each bay, but, because the trusses are so closely-spaced, there are trusses between the arches of the wind braces. There is a layer of cob on the top of the stone rubble walls.

An outstanding medieval house with a remarkable survival in the roof timbers. Hoskins and Finberg suggested an early C15 date for the building and trace a sequence of early owners.

Listing NGR: SS9405105527

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26533122

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: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)