Description

CORNWORTHY
SX85NW Coomery (or Coombery)
6/62
9.2.61

II

House. Circa early C16, remodelled in circa early to mid C17, extended in C18
or C19 and altered and extended in C20. Painted and rendered stone rubble.
Thatched half-hipped roof. End stack to the right, axial stack to left of
centre and C20 lateral stack at front of left end, all with rendered brick
shafts.
Plan: Originally probably a 3-room and through passage plan house, the lower
end to the left. At least the hall and probably the whole house was open to
the roof and divided by low partitions. In the early to mid C17 floors were
inserted and and axial stack was built, to heat the hall, backing onto the
passage; the stack has newel stairs against which it projects at the front of
the house, and rises from the hall. The stack at the higher right end may
also have been a C17 addition. The wing was probably added in the C18 or C19
and if it were a mill the living accommodation was extended into it later.
In the late C20 the lower end, which had been demolished at some period
before, was rebuilt with a large lateral stack at the front. The partition
between the hall and the inner room has been removed, an axial partition
inserted and a straight staircase put into the rear wing.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 3 window front to the original range to
the right has C20 casements and a rounded stair turret to the left of centre.
To the left of the stair turret the late C20 extension set back slightly; it
has a wide recessed doorway, a segmented arch and an eyebrowed window above
and a tall lateral stack to the left; the left end corner is rounded.
At the back the wing to the left has a large truncated end stack and a C20
porch in the inner angle. The windows at the back are all C20 porch in the
inner angle. The windows at the back are all C20 casements and there are
eyebrow dormers in the roof of the late C20 extension to the right.
Interior: Internal partitions have been removed and the floor replaced. The
fireplace at the lower end of the former hall has a timber lintel supported
on a stone corbel at one end; the lintel is cut back so the chamfer has been
largely destroyed; the jambs are of dressed slate and there is a stone oven.
The newel stairs to the left of this fireplace have C20 timber treads.
Roof: 3 bays of the roof, over the hall and higher end and over the inserted
axial stack at the lower end of the hall are smoke-blackened including the
underside of the thatch which is lightly blackened. The principals are
straight, their feet set into the wall tops. The truss at the higher end of
the hall has a cambered collar with lapped notched joints to the principals
which have a mortice and tenon apex and matrices for threaded purlieu. The
other truss over the middle of the hall has a collar halved and lapped to the
principals which are halved at the apex; the threaded purlins have been
replaced by closely spaced purlins lying on the backs of the principals.
This suggests that the roof was rebuilt using the original timbers while the
hall was still open to the roof. The hall's axial stack has been inserted
through this roof. The roof over the rear wing is probably C18.

Listing NGR: SX8164055174

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26610553

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

• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)