Description

CREDITON

SS834000 DOWNESHEAD LANE
672-1/6/29 (East side)
No.27

GV II

House and adjoining barn. House circa 1730 in origin,
replanned internally. Barn probably late C17 with several
phases of alteration.House Flemish bond brick on local stone
rubble footings, rear elevation partly roughcast; hipped slate
roof laid in diminishing courses;end stacks with brick shafts.
Barn partly cob, partly stone, partly painted brick; thatched
roof, gabled at ends.
Plan: single depth, 2 rooms wide with central entrance facing
the stair.Evidence that the left hand room was originally
smaller and had a service room to the rear, and the main
entrance led directly into a larger room to the right with the
stair rising against the rear wall. A single storey service
room, set back at the right end, has been raised to 2 storeys,
probably in the 1930s or 40s. Adjoining this is a 3-bay barn.
Exterior: The House of 2 storeys. Symmetrical 3-bay front plus
one window to the right end addition. Central 4-panel door,
the lower panels flush, the upper replaced with glass, with a
simple moulded doorcase.Curved corrugated asbestos porch hood
on probably late C19 plain cast iron brackets. The left hand
ground floor window is an original early C18 3-light casement
with bead moulded mullions, square leaded panes and original
window funiture. Ground floor right and the first floor window
above it are circa 1940s in a matching style to the original.
First floor window left is a probably C19 3-light timber
casement, 2 panes per light. First floor centre window is a
2-light casement with square leaded panes. The left hand
addition has one ground and one first floor C20 window.
Interior:re-planned internally but some features survive.
Fitted cupboards are set into both end walls. A number of
2-panel early C18 doors survive, some clearly re-sited but
likely to originate from the house. Small section of dado
panelling adjacent to the front door.
Barn originally lofted, loft floor missing. The south
elevation has a large, partly blocked doorway to the left and
a probably C18 originally unglazed window to the right. The
rear elevation, over looking Buller Square, is of painted
brick and has a probably C18 door of wide planks to right of
centre.
Interior: Evidence of considerable rebuilding. The east end
wall (abutting No 4, Buller Square) is partly cob but with a
full-height section of stone to the left.The roof trusses are
heavily-repaired A-frames, the collars pegged directly onto
the principals, the pegs augmented with large nails. The front
feet of the principals rest on a wall plate on the brickwork,
which has also been repaired.
The house may be the earliest brick building in Crediton. It
was formerly owned by the Downes Estate and is said to have
been lived in by the estate blacksmith. The barn was probably
built as an open-fronted linhay, before it was adapted in
connection with No 27: it forms an important element in the
courtyard plan of the Buller Square group (q.v.),parts of
which are probably late C16.

Listing NGR: SS8396700063

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26584865

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

• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)