Description

SS 80 NW SANDFORD SWANNATON LANE

1/275 Swannaton Farmhouse

II

Farmhouse. Early C16, late C16 and C17 improvements, modernised in C19.
Roughcast cob on rubble footings; rubble stacks topped with C19 and C20 brick;
slate roof (formerly thatch). L-shaped building. Gable-ended main block facing
south has 3-room-and-through-passage plan with inner room at left (east) end. Late
C16-early C17 rear block to inner room. Projecting end stacks to service and inner
rooms, front projecting. Lateral stack to hall and end stack to rear block. 2
storeys. Irregular 4-window front of C20 replacement casements of various sizes,
all with glazing bars. C19 6-panel door (the upper pair glazed) to passage to
right of projecting hall stack. East (service end) stack has irregular patch high
on outside which is said to be C17 oval date plaque with heraldic device but is now
obscured by roughcast render. Interior is largely result of C19 modernisation when
C16 and C17 structural and decorative features were hidden. The little that can be
seen suggests a long structural history. 4-bay roof over hall and inner room is
supported on side-pegged jointed cruck trusses, but extent of smoke-blackening
cannot be ascertained due to limited access. Internal jetty: the chamber over the
through passage jetties into lower end of hall but features are hidden. Inner room
has inserted C16 axial beam, chamfered with runout stops, supported on an oak post
with jowled head, and a C17 moulded plaster cornice. The inner room volcanic
ashlar fireplace has C19 segmental brick arch replacing lintel. Rear block has
chamfered and cut-diagonal stopped axial beam and C17 door frame with scroll stops.
Well-preserved unmodernised farmhouse.
Swannaton - the farmstead of swineherds - is mentioned in a charter of 997 (Devon
SMR).

Listing NGR: SS8097905651

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26562641

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

• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)