Description

DOWN ST MARY SS 70 SW 2/147 Bartonbury Farmhouse 26.8.65

- II*

Farmhouse. Mid-late C16 with C17 improvements and extensions. Plastered cob on rubble footings; stone rubble stacks with ashlar chimney shafts, one enlarged with C20 brick; corrugated asbestos roof (formerly thatch) and slate to outshot. Farmhouse facing north with unusual plan. Originally the front door led into an entrance lobby with small service roan or buttery to rear. To the left (east) is the hall and the inner room beyond. Hall has projecting rear lateral stack and a newel stair turret alongside and inner room has a former end stack, now axial. To left C17 1-room extension and a further late C17-early C18 cider store extension on the end. Front outshot, former dairy, converted to kitchen circa 1950. The shippon at right (west) end was formerly stables with access from the entrance lobby and was built in late C17-early C18, maybe an enlargement of the original. 2 storeys. Irregular 4-window front to main house comprising a variety of mid-late C16, C17 and C20 windows. Rebuilt outshot towards left end has circa 1950 iron-framed casements with glazing bars and contemporary doors. First floor window to C17 extension (over monopitch roof of outshot) is a half dormer with gable over and contains C17 oak 2-light window with ovolo-moulded mullion but lower part has been cut away. The main door right of centre has the partly-restored original oak door frame, a flat Tudor arch with chamfered surround, carved foliate spandrels and delicately-moulded architrave. It contains a possibly C17 studded plank door with coverstrips and hung on Cl9 strap hinges. Door is flanked by C20 windows, that to the hall on left inserted circa 1950. Main hall window further left is C16 or C17 with an unusual form. It is oak and now 3 lights (originally 6 and missing alternate mullions) with moulded mullions which are boxed in internally. The frame has a moulded surround in which the central ogee mould is enriched with a series of incisions with splayed ends. The head includes more of the same and rosettes. It has been cut back to accommodate C19 casements and may once have been inscribed with initials or date. 3 first floor windows over hall and lobby/service room are C16 or C17 oak chamfered-mullion windows of different size with some lights enlarged by removal of mullions. Shippon at right end has doors either side of an unglazed framed window with hayloft loading hatch over with pair of pigeon holes under eaves to left. Roof is gable-ended to left and hipped to right:. Rear elevation is also irregular with hall and inner room broken forward from service end and C17 extension. Late C17-early C18 extension also broken forward. Most windows are C20 casements with glazing bars, those on first floor enlarging the original embrasures. C20 glass-fronted porch to inner room and C20 door to service room. Stair turret has small original oak-framed light and service end chamber has original 3-light oak window with chamfered mullions. 2 bee-boles to left of C20 door and towards left end door to shippon. Gable end of late C17- early C18 extension has plank door with blocked window over. Both chimney shafts are ashlar with chamfered coping. Hall shaft plastered. Inner room shaft has second C20 brick flue added for first floor fireplace. Excellent and well-preserved interior. Screen between entrance hall and service roan/buttery removed within living memory and said to have been an oak plank-and- muntin screen. Lower end of hall had an oak plank-and-muntin screen of which the headbeam only now survives. Hall is exquisite. Rear fireplace has volcanic ashlar jambs and an oak lintel with a soffit broad bead moulding and front containing a shallow recessed panel with horizontal fluted moulding. Fireplace includes inserted C19 brick oven. Alongside to right an oak flat Tudor arched doorway with mended plank door leads to newel stair. At upper end of hall is an oak plank-and-muntin screen. It has an elaborately moulded frieze including bands of carved wreathed foliage, series of incised simple shapes and an arcade. The muntins have broad chaqers with diagonal step stops above level of oak bench, most of which survives in situ. Rear hall window has an oak window seat and an C18 bible cupboard under the window with a panelled door on H-hinges. Embrasure has a small niche to left. To right of front window is cream oven alcove, probably C18. Hall floored in early C17 with a richly-moulded crossbeam with runout stops. Inner room crossbeam has soffit hacked back. Reverse of hall plank-and-muntin screen is plain compared with front. fireplace has volcanic sides and massive granite lintel and chamfered surround. Oven in rear is now hidden by C20 stove. C19 stairs to right of fireplace occupy site of former newel whose former presence shown by curved recess in wall. Small service room behind in C17 extension has plain soffit chamfered axial bean. Full height cob crosswall to late C17-early C18 cider store which is open to 2-bay roof carried on A-frame truss with pegged lap-jointed collar and X-apex. On first floor plain roof between solid crosswalls and back of inner wall stack shows weathered off-sets proving that it was once external. Hall has full height large-framed crosswalls over the plank-and-muntin screens. They are closed side- pegged jointed cruck trusses and there is an open side-pegged jointed cruck truss over the hall. Roofspace over service end and inner room is not smoke-blackened but roofspace over hall is inaccessible. Evidence for some remodelling in upper end crosswall where roof raised in C17 leaving empty mortices in principals from earlier roof. Lower end crosswall includes small window (now blocked) overlooking hall. Newel from hall has solid oak treads and includes rare survival of original blind balustrade at top. Early C17 oak door frames with chamfered surround to 2 chambers off the first floor landing. Some early wide floorboards in hall chamber. Full height cob crosswall between service roan/buttery and shippon. Shippon has plain waney beans to ground floor and 3-bay roof carried on A-frame trusses with pegged lap-jointed collars. Bartonbury is a very well-preserved farmhouse which includes a number of features of surprisingly high quality relative to the size and status of the house. By any criteria of judgement this is an important Devon farmhouse.

Listing NGR: SS7389803465

External Links

• Wikidata Q17548407

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Recommended Books

• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)