Description

TIVERTON

SS90NW EXETER ROAD, East Barton
848-1/8/75 (North West side)
22/03/96 Old Farmhouse with integral barn at
East Barton

GV II*

Farmhouse with integral barn with shippon. C16, remodelled and
house extended C17. Rendered cob, some rebuilt later with
stone rubble; corrugated iron roof replacing thatch.
PLAN: originally probably an unfloored open hall plus integral
shippon and threshing barn. The main building is 8 bays long
with wide bays divided by original trusses, the 2-room house
end at the left is 3 bays with half passage on its right. The
passage and higher end room are floored over and jettied over
the hall, the jetties and the 2 trusses over are
smoke-blackened; hall was also floored at a slightly higher
level in the C17 and a lateral stack was inserted probably at
the same time. There is a C17 wing at right angles to rear of
the higher end of the house and this has an outshut on its
right. There is a later attached building at the far right
(relating to East Barton Farmhouse qv, and not included in
this listing).
EXTERIOR: 2 storey elevations since insertion of floors in the
C17; 1-window range house with 2 ground-floor windows and
doorway on its right. C16 or early C17 oak outer frame (minus
sill) window to ground-floor left, then a resited C17 oak
ovolo-moulded 3-light mullioned window right of this and left
of the hall stack (lighting the high end of the hall), and
original chamfered oak arched doorway on the right, of
shouldered construction with a crude 4-centred arch. The barn
front on the right has window opening over window opening on
the left, which is the shippon part, then a tall narrow
opening with door over door, then a small ground-floor window
opening and right of this is a wide doorway fronting the
threshing floor with its timber lintel just under the eaves.
There is a doorway opposite this in the rear wall that appears
to retain its original oak frame.
Left-hand return elevation is a 1-window range with window
opening over the doorway into the wing; window opening left of
doorway. There is another doorway right of this into the
left-hand end of the original house. The end wall of the house
is buttressed to the ground floor and part of the wall above
has fallen or has been removed and is replaced with corrugated
iron.
Rear end of wing is unrendered cob with a crude central window
frame. The gable end is unusually constructed of woven wattle
with cob daub.
INTERIOR: 7 side-pegged jointed cruck oak trusses to main
range, most of which are complete but there is a front post
and collar missing from the truss second from right and a
collar missing from one of the other trusses at the barn end.
There are some original purlins, which are halved where they
meet over the truss blades, and some spars survive from when
the roof was thatched. The 2 trusses over the hall are
smoke-blackened but those over the shippon and barn are clean.
This is explained by the survival of part of a former
full-height partition, which is constructed of studwork and
lath and plastered to its upper half, separating the domestic
end from the agricultural end. There are possibly original
floors over the entry and over the room at the higher end.
Both of these floors are jettied over the hall, with the joist
ends rounded from underneath, and are also smoke-blackened.
There is an original muntin and plank screen blocking the
cobbled passage halfway in, thus forming a small closet or
pantry beyond. There is mortice socket evidence in the
crossbeam left of the passage for a former muntin and plank
screen dividing the passage from the hall. The later flooring
over of the hall is at a higher level but this is also
smoke-blackened and there is a broad-chamfered crossbeam
midway between the jetties. The simple lateral fireplace is of
reduced depth due to the removal of the external part of the
breast at some time. There are original oak doorways, of
similar detail and construction to the front doorway except
that the pitch of the arches vary: between the hall and the
room at the higher end room, and between the passage and the
shippon, the later retaining an old planked door, and there is
another similar doorway leading between the rear wing and its
outshut in the angle, possibly relating to a former staircase.
There is no sign that the room at the higher end of the hall
was ever heated.
The wing has 1 jointed cruck truss of similar construction to
those of the main building. The floor of the wing has a
broad-chamfered crossbeam similar to the inserted crossbeam of
the hall and possibly of the same date. There is a splayed
corner to rear right of the wing, possibly the remains of a
corner fireplace.
The shippon has a C17 broad-chamfered oak axial beam, probably
of similar date to the flooring in of the hall, with later
joists. Other floors at this end of the building are of much
later date.
HISTORY: this is a very rare and probably unique building in
Devon, being an evolved form of the longhouse and
incorporating not just a shippon but a barn, all under one
roof. Added to this is the special interest that the house
retains through not having been altered in modern times, so
that there is considerable evidence of its development and
former function. The survival of such a large early roof, the
2 jettied floors and the arched doorways are remarkable in
themselves, but this combined with being the only known
example of this plan type make this a very special building.
An outstanding example which would merit detailed
investigation.

Listing NGR: SS9451908679

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17531553

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

• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)