Description

BISHOPSTiIGNTON
SX 87 SE

9/17 Wolfsgrove

23.8.55
II

Large farmhouse. Probably late medieval origins, remodelled and extended in the C17
and C18, circa early C19 wing. Colourwashed and rendered, said to be stone faced
with cob, some of the cob replaced with concrete block after a collapse of the facing
; thatched roof with plain ridge, hipped at left end, gabled at end of wing ; left
end stack, wide projecting rear lateral stack, end stack to wing.
Plan: Complex evolution. The present arrangement is L plan with a single depth main
range, 4 rooms wide with an entrance to left of centre into an axial passage in front
of an unheated service room ; 2 room plan front right wing. The origins of the house
appear to be a late medieval open hall (blackened timbers over the left end) but the
flooring of this end of the house suggests that it was subsequently reduced in status
to a kitchen and the house seems to have developed to the right, the principal C17
room being to right of centre and retaining its status as a parlour to the present
day. A narrow unheated room at the extreme right was a former dairy, the partition
between this room and the parlour has been removed. The axial passage in front of
the service room is probably a late C17 or C18 arrangement. The front right wing is
probably an early C19 addition to extend the higher end of the house. C19 or C20
single-storey lean-tos to rear of main range with corrugated iron roofs.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Long, handsome, 3 window front with the wing to the right, the
eaves thatch slightly eyebrowed over the 2 left hand windows. Gabled porch on front
; C20 conservatory in angle between main range and wing with C20 glazed doors into
the house from the conservatory. 2-light C19 or C20 casement windows with glazing
bars. The inner return of the wing has a 2-light first floor casement and an early
C19 ground floor 16-pane sash.
Interior: The parlour, to right of centre, has a C17 chamfered axial beam with scroll
nick stops and a fine and very ornate late C19 local marble chimney-piece. The
extreme left hand room has a rough crossbeam and a partition wall of wide horizontal
planks to the unheated service room.
Roof: Something of a puzzle. The timbers over the left end room appear to be lightly
blackened with blackened thatch but the smoke-staining fades out to the right and
there are 2 different types of trusses. The extreme left end truss appears to be
C16, it is incomplete but formerly had a threaded ridge and purlins and lapped
notched collar. The adjacent truss is less finely finished with a halved collar but
is also blackened and the remaining trusses (not thoroughly inspected), appear to be
of the same type. Trusses over the wing may be early C19, pegged at the apex but
with bolted collars.
A large, handsome farmhouse, visible from the road.

Listing NGR: SX8933074079

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26618623

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

• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy