Summary

A C18 house with C19 additions and alterations; further mid- to late-C20 alterations.

Description

MATERIALS: it is constructed of coursed white lias rubble with a roughcast render to the front (west) and to parts of the additions. The roof to the principal range is clad in slate and there are coped verges and brick stacks to the gable ends; the later additions have roofs of double-Roman tiles, except for the single-storey range which has a pantile roof. There is a stack to the gable end of the addition built against the west end of the main range and a tall brick stack to the single-storey rear addition. The windows are C20 replacements.

PLAN: originally a two-cell house with integral gable end stacks, orientated roughly north to south. It is of two-storeys with an attic. Against the north gable wall is a lower two-storey addition, probably dating from the first half of the C19; a further two-storey addition has been built to the rear (east) of this. These additions lack internal historic fittings and are of lesser interest. Also to the rear of the house is an attached single-storey range which is also of C19 date and may have been a former outbuilding that has since been incorporated into the house. A mid-C20 outshut spans the gap between the additions at the rear.

EXTERIOR: the principal range has a symmetrical front (west) elevation of two bays with two- and three-light timber casements set in deep architraves with cambered heads (visible internally) and drip moulds. The central entrance has a stone slab hood which is supported on cut stone brackets and a C20 six-panelled door with glazed top panels. To the left is the gable wall to a lower height, single-bay addition which has a casement window to both floors and a coped verge to the gable. The north return has a ground-floor casement and an upper window that projects above the eaves. To the left and set back slightly is an attached addition that is lower in height and of two-bays. It has a central entrance with a modern plank door, flanked by casement windows; there are two matching casements at first floor. Its rear gable wall and south elevation have no openings. To the rear, the ground floor of the C18 range is obscured by a C20 outshut and a single-storey addition to the left. The first floor of the C18 range has a two-light casement. The single-storey addition has late-C20 standardised uPVC units to its south elevation, while the adjacent south gable of the main range has a two-light casement to the ground floor and a single-light attic window.

INTERIOR: the C18 principal range has a small entrance hall from which the stairs rise to the first floor. The right-hand room has an axial ceiling beam with shallow chamfering, and a largely rebuilt fireplace with an alcove to the right that has a timber lintel. In the room to the left of the hall the end gable wall has been removed at ground-floor level to create a large single space incorporating the room in the adjacent C19 addition. The room retains an axial ceiling beam and there is a rebuilt corner fireplace in the C19 part. The rooms in the later additions do not contain any historic features of note. Upstairs, a rear corridor runs the length of the C18 range with bedrooms to the front; these have roughly-hewn ceiling beams, but the fireplaces have been blocked. This part of the house has a substantial three-bay roof with collared principal rafters and two rows of butt purlins. The roof to one of the two-storey additions is entirely modern, that to the north-west addition was not accessible (2012).

History

Clapton is a hamlet that lies within the parish of Ston Easton. Orchard View is situated towards the eastern end of the hamlet, at right angles to the road, and is one of several C17 to C18 houses in this part of Clapton. Stylistic evidence indicates that the principal range dates from the C18 and the house was extended with the construction of two adjoining lower ranges of different dates to the north, and a single-storey rear addition in the C19. The house was built on land that may have historically formed part of the Ston Easton Estate. All of the tenanted houses were sold in 1957. Orchard View is shown on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1886 with its current footprint, except for a small rear outshut which was added probably in the mid- to late C20. By at least 1904, as was common in the agricultural depression of the later C19 and very early years of the C20, the house was apparently divided into two separate dwellings. It has since reverted to a single house.

Reasons for Listing

Orchard View is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Architectural interest: although clearly built in the vernacular tradition, the building shows some understanding of classical principles in the near-symmetry of its principal elevation which has a balanced design;
* Alteration: the alterations have not adversely affected the special interest; the house is a good survival of a C18 vernacular building with later additions;
* Interiors: surviving historic features include ceiling beams and late-C18 and late-C19 doors and door surrounds;
* Group value: it contributes to the local street scene and forms a grouping with other listed buildings in the locality which together demonstrate the development of this part of Clapton in the C17 and C18.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26628765

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

• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
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  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
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  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
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  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)