Description

DUNSFORD
SX 88 NW

2/28 West Down Farmhouse

- II

Farmhouse. C17 or earlier. C20 addition. Cob on stone rubble footings, whitewashed
and rendered to the front; thatched roof, half-hipped at left end, gabled at right
end, the thatch replaced with corrugated asbestos at the front of the ridge.
Single depth L-plan house. With no access to the roofspace the evolution of the
building is not entirely clear but a chamfered jointed cruck truss in the centre of
the 2-room single depth main range suggests the possibility of late medieval origins.
The main range has a 2-room plan, the higher end to the right consisting of an
unheated inner room and the hall with an axial stack backing on to the passage which
is at the left end of the range. There is no lower room to the left of the passage
and it is possible that there may never have been a lower end because the ground here
drops away to a much lower level. The rear wing may be a later addition or a service
wing instead of the traditional services at the lower end. There is a rounded stair
turret in the angle between the rear wing and the rear right wall of the main range.
In the C20 a single-storey kitchen has been added in the angle between the rear wing
and rear left wall of the main range.
2 storeys. Asymmetrical 3-window front with regular fenestration. C20 half-glazed
gabled porch and half-glazed front door into passage on the extreme left. C20 2- and
3-light casements with small panes at the top of each light. Bee-bole on front at
right. Small blocked stair light to stair turret.
Interior The principals of a jointed cruck truss are visible on the first floor with
the principals chamfered below the joint. The hall has a C20 grate, probably
concealing an earlier fireplace, and a chamfered cross beam with ogee stops. A C17
doorway with a cambered lintel leads intoa former stair. A doorway in the partition
wall between the hall and passage has a timber lintel that may a fragment of a former
screen. The inner room has a chamfered cross beam with step stops. A late C19/early
C20 stair has been inserted in the hall at the inner end. No access to roofspace at
time of survey (1985).
A house with interior features of the C17. It is possible that an earlier roof
structure may exist.

Listing NGR: SX7791991182

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26576835

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

• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)