Description

COMPTON DUNDON
508/0/10012 COMPTON STREET (Northeast side)
15-JUL-08 LAWS FARMHOUSE

II

Former farmhouse of C17 date with mid-C19 additions and C20 and early-C21 alterations.

MATERIALS: It is constructed of coursed local lias stone with brick end stacks, a central ridge stack, and a further one to the outshut. The ridge stacks appear to have been largely rebuilt and the windows and doors are late-C20/early-C21 replacements. The roof is clad with clay tiles, but was formerly thatched. The lean-to against the east gable end has a slate roof.

PLAN: It comprises a two room plan with cross passage, together with a former service room with loft above in the outshut to the rear (north). The outshut was extended in the mid-C19 when a cider cellar was added at its west end. A single storey lean-to, formerly a dairy, was also added against the east gable.

EXTERIOR: The south elevation has a central entrance door, now enclosed within a C20 porch, flanked by flat-headed window openings to the ground floor, and smaller two-light windows at first floor. To the rear (north), there is a catslide roof of clay tiles over the outshut which has a central entrance door with two windows to either side. Built against the east elevation is a single storey addition with a hipped slate roof. Its walls are rendered and there is a late-C20 window and a doorway in the east elevation. The west gable wall has been rendered.

INTERIOR: The cross passage retains a horizontal top rail to the left side and a short section of plank and muntin screen to the right. At the north end is a door (reversed) with mid-C17 strap hinges. In the right hand room is a large inglenook fireplace with a chamfered timber bressumer on stone chamfered jambs and a chamfered ceiling beam and, in the outshut beyond is a further large open hearth; the south side of the fireplace composed of a single slab of stone. The room to the left of the passage has a C20 fireplace. At first floor in the east part of the house is a moulded stone fireplace, a chamfered ceiling and a re-sited length of timber screen; in the west half there is a C19 fire surround. The roof structure comprises collared trusses with trenched purlins, though some of the latterhave been renewed and the rafters replaced. A modern roof has been superimposed over the historic timbers.

HISTORY: Documentary sources indicate that there has been a farm on the site since the C14 when it formed part of the Milbourne Estate and was bought by the Strangways family in 1691. The Laws name is considered to derive from the family who occupied the property in the mid-C18.

SOURCES: J. Dallimore, Laws Farmhouse, Compton Street, Compton Dundon (2001), unpublished. Somerset Vernacular Building Research Group.

REASON FOR DESIGNATION: Laws Farmhouse is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Despite C20 and early-C21 alterations, there is a significant proportion of pre-1700 fabric
* The C17 plan-form remains legible and adds to our understanding of domestic vernacular architecture of this date
* Surviving internal features include open fireplaces, exposed chamfered beams, some joinery and principal roof carpentry
* The construction is of good quality and is representative of the vernacular traditions of the area

Listing NGR: ST4920133365

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26671856

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: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)