Description

HOLCOMBE BURNELL
SX 89 NW

6/74 Great Matridge Farmhouse

- II

House. Late medieval origins, late C16 remodelling, rear wing added in the C19.
Colourwashed rendered cob on stone rubble footings; 1920s red tiled roof (formerly
thatched) gabled at ends; axial stack with ashlar granite shaft with cap and thatch
weatherings, right end projecting stack, brick gable end stack to C19 rear wing.
The present plan is 3 room and through passage with a rear left Cl9 kitchen wing at
the higher end forming an L-plan, and a rear right single-storey lean-to addition at
the lower end. Although the roof timbers were replaced after a fire in the 1920s
there is evidence that the original plan was a medieval open hall house floored over
in 2 phases; the unheated inner room first, jettying into the hall. At a later dated
the hall stack was inserted backing on to the through passage and the hall was
floored over. The lower end may originally have been unheated, the stack possibly
added in the C18. In the C19 a rear kitchen wing was added. The roof timbers were
entirely replaced in the 1920s after a thatch fire, and the pitch of the roof adapted
for tiles.
2 storeys. Irregular 5-window front with 2 raking dormers projecting slightly above
the eaves line. The front door into the through passage, centre right has a slated
porch canopy carried on brackets; to the left of the porch a projecting semi-
circular bread oven capped with a single slate. Fenestration of 2-light casements.
3 panes per light, ground floor window left blocked.
Interior Considerable survival of late C16 features and, surviving from the medieval
open hall phase of the building, a very rare hall window at the rear, blocked but in
a good state of preservation. The window is timber and consists of 4 trefoil-headed
lights with diagonal stops to the mullions, in a rectangular frame; the window
extends across the level of the first floor and appears to be in situ. Late C16
features include a fine timber round-headed doorway, chamfered on the outer face.
The chimney breast of the hall stack is granite ashlar on the passage side, on the
hall side the fireplace has a chamfered lintel with diagonal stops and stone rubble
jambs. There is a jetty beam above the plank and muntin screen between the hall and
inner room, the screen has chamfered muntins with diagonal stops at former hall bench
level. The inner room, which has been subdivided, has a chamfered cross beam with
step stops. Disturbance to the rear wall of the hall may indicate the position of a
former stair. The lower end room has an open fireplace with a plain timber lintel.
A good example of a house with late C16 features, the earlier blocked open hall
window is probably late C15 and a very rare survival.

Listing NGR: SX8439489926

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26576444

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

• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living