Description

MOLLAND STONE CROSS SS 8028-8128 20/93 North Stone Farmhouse, shippon 20.2.67 adjoining to west and garden walls adjoining to front GV II Farmhouse and adjoining shippon. House of c.1550, altered in the early to mid - C17, probably including partial restoration and additions. Minor C18 and mid - to late C19 alterations and additions. Mid - to late C19 adjoining shippon, possibly incorporating some earlier fabric. Rendered, probably mainly over cob with additions in random stone rubble. Gable - ended asbestos - slate roof, formerly thatched. Welsh-slate roofs over outshuts at rear with C20 bituminous covering. Dressed-stone square stacks with weatherings, that to front with chamfered offset and tapered cap too. Stone rubble shippon with some cob to rear and half-hipped Welsh-slate roof. Plan and development: Three room and cross passage plan, facing south. Ground falls to left. Late Medieval open-hall house, formerly consisting of hall with inner room (present kitchen) to right and cross passage to left with former service room (since demolished) beyond. Formerly open to the roof, continuously from end to end with rooms probably divided by low partitions C17 alterations included the insertion of the first floor, the addition of the external lateral stack to the front wall of the hall and the former end stack to the inner room, and probably also the addition of the outshut at rear of hall and lower end, incorporating staircase at rear of hall and dairy at rear of cross-passage. Dividing cob walls rising to eaves level inserted in the C17, possibly replacing low wooden screens. Great chamber probably formed over hall in the C17 (note higher ceilings). Former service room demolished at some time, probably in the C17 or C18 and lean-to added at rear of inner room, probably also in the C18. The inner room end has been extended at some time, probably in the C19, (the extent of the lean-to additions to rear probably indicate the length of the house before the extension of the right-hand end. Shippon adjoining to left, mainly late C19 but probably incorporating some earlier C17 or C18 work. It stands on the site of the putative service room and might even incorporate some fabric of that date. Two storeys, with one-storey outshuts additions at rear. Exterior: Asymmetrical 3-window front with projecting lateral stack to left of centre with tall stone shaft; late C19 and C20 two-light small-paned wooden casements. Wide former cross-passage doorway to left with C19 boarded door and large wooden frame. C20 half-glazed kitchen door between first and second windows from right with late C20 lean-to glazed porch. C17 outshut to rear with 2-light wooden staircase window below eaves to left and wooden cross window to dairy at right. Lower lean-to addition (see straight joint) to left with late C20 wooden casement to left and 2- light small-paned wooden casement in left-hand return with wrought-iron bars and pegged frame. Shippon adjoining to left (west) with boarded loft door to front and right and central ground-floor 2-leaf boarded door with small C20 casement to right. Probably C19 stone walls enclosing small garden to front. One-storey lean-to at front to left with 2 stable-type doors and C20 metal casements. Interior: Central ground floor room (former hall) with plastered C17 deep-chamfered cross beam and half beams, mid - C20 brick fireplace surround with large opening, and C18 cupboard in right-hand wall with raised and fielded panelled doors and H hinges. Old boarded door to cross passage with strap hinges. Front door of cross passage with old strap hinges on inside. Dairy to rear of passage (partly in lean-to and partly in rear of passage) with old door and low slate shelves. Former inner room (kitchen) with plastered C17 deep-chamfered cross beams and half beams, and bench along left-hand wall. Small dairy at rear of later addition to right with plain wooden beam and low slate shelves. C17 dog-leg stair in outshut to rear of right- hand end of hall. Old (probably C17) doorway between top of stairs and room in roofspace of outshut, with boarded door and old frame with chamfered head. Door to left-hand bedroom of c. 1700 with 2 raised and fielded panels. Other old boarded doors and C18 or early C19 4-panelled doors. Notably complete late-Medieval smoke-blackened 4-bay roof (2-bays over hall), consisting of 4 side-pegged jointed cruck trusses (one in left-hand end wall formerly between cross passage and service end before the house was truncated, each with cranked collar (removed from left-hand end truss) and mortice and tenoned apex; pairs of trenched purlins and diagonally-set ridge-piece. Largely complete survival of smoke-blackened rafters and battens too. The truss over the cross passage appears to be less blackened than those directly over the hall. Due to higher first-floor ceilings it was not possible at the time of survey to inspect closely roofspace over the centre and right-hand end of the house. Lower floor level in the bay over the former cross passage, possibly once used as a storage loft (see boarded door in left- hand end truss, leading to loft over adjoining shippon). Piece of reused C17 carved panelling reused in truss in left-hand end wall. Roofspace over addition at right- hand end not inspected at time of survey. This house is notable for having one of the best preserved smoke-blackened Medieval roofs in the parish.

Listing NGR: SS8132028171

External Links

• Wikidata Q26577293

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