Gambuston Farmhouse, Including Range of Farmbuildings Attached at West End Granary Attached at East End

Details

CHITTLEHAMPTON SS 62 NW

1/91 Gambuston Farmhouse, including range of farmbuilding attached at - west end and granary attached at east end - II Farmhouse with continuous range of stables, root house and shippons attached to left end and granary to right. Farmhouse late medieval, remodelled in C17, enlarged at left end in C18, with C19 alterations. Stables and probably granary C18, root house mid C19, shippons late C19. Farmhouse of stone rubble, dressed and brought to courses at right (lower) end and cob, unrendered except at left end to upper storey. Stables of stone rubble and cob; root barn and shippons principally stone rubble with brick dressings; granary of stone rubble, cob and slight timber framing with stone rubble infill. Farmhouse has thatched roof with gable end to right, continued over stables to left with plain ridge. Tall rendered front lateral hall stack with offsets, unrendered stone rubble stack at right ga,ble end with tapered cap and brick stack set forward of ridge towards left end. Slate roof with gable end to root barn and shippons. Corrugated iron roof with gable ends to granary. Plan: farmhouse of 3 rooms and cross-passage plan with additional room at left end formerly poultry house taken in to form part of dwelling. Shallow dairy and stair outshut to rear. The farmbuildings, extending to the left end to form an impressive continuous range, comprise lofted stables to left of farmhouse, root house adjoining to its left and shippons at left end. Granary adjoins at right angles and projects forward of farmhouse at right end. Development: the entire range is of considerable interest for demonstrating multi- phase development. The farmhouse is of late medieval origin, as evidenced by the reused smoke-blackened purlins and rafters to the main structure and stable roof. The 2 raised cruck trusses over the lower end may be original, are clean, and may possibly suggest therefore that the lower end was ceiled from the beginning; certainly the deep ceiling beam to the lower end of the hall with differing ceiling heights to each side suggests a possible jettied arrangement. This is supported by the fact that the 2 chambers created over the lower end and passage have no connecting door with that over the hall and the original gabled stair turret serves only the lower end with access to the rear of the hall. When the hall was ceiled, probably in the C17, the stair turret was enlarged to incorporate a second flight of stairs to service the hall and inner room chambers. The lower end, to judge by the good quality masonry confined to this end, may always have served as a parlour. In the C19 it was partitioned towards the upper end to create a narrow storage room parallel with the cross-passage. The inner room with its shallow rear dairy, may always have functioned as a service end, the fireplace across the front left-hand angle apparently being a later, possibly C18 insertion. The inner room has separate external access. Beyond it, the additional room formerly used as a poultry house with loft over, was converted in mid C20 to part of the dwelling. The entire ground floor was considerably "modernised" in the late C19 and early C20, since when it has remained very unspoilt. 2 storeys. 5 window range. All early C20 3-light casements, 3 panes per light. Ground floor lower end has C19 12 paned tripartite sash with sliding sidelight sashes. 6 panelled door to cross-passage, the upper 3 panels glazed. All openings to right of stack have brick quoins. Mid C20 3-light hall window and 3 lights casement, 3 panes per light to left of plank door to inner room. Former outbuilding at left end has 2-light casement to left of plank door with 4 pigeon holes above to upper storey. Lofted granary at right end has external stone steps to plank door at front gable end, the left side jettied over ground floor storage room with plank door. Stables adjoining to left of farmhouse has virtually symmetrical arrangement of loft door above plank door flanked by window openings. Root house to left has stone piers towards right end flanking wide doorway with cambered stone lintel. Pitching door to rear. Shippons at left end has 2 loft doors above 2 plank stable doors, that to right flanked by window openings, that to left with window opening to its right only. All openings to shippons have cambered brick lintels and quoins. Interior: principally C19 joinery survives intact to ground floor. Inner room has roughly chamfered axial ceiling beam. C19 fireplace with brick jambs. Hall has cross ceiling beam and probably deep jetty beam, both plastered over. C19 integral bench at upper end of hall. C20 grate to probably original concealed fireplace. Earlier partitions possibly also concealed at each end of hall. Integral C18 corner cupboard to front left-hand corner of lower end with raised and fielded panelled door. Classical C19 wood chimneypiece with eared surround. Good C17 double doorway at head of rear right-hand staircase with chamfered scroll-stopped surrounds and original doors with scratchmoulded rails and stiles forming 6 panels. Probably reused C17 ledged plank door to head of left-hand staircase with cover strips forming 3 panels. Roof: 2 late C16 raised cruck trusses over lower end with cambered collars and 2 tiers of threaded purlins and ridge purlin. Third truss over hall has typical C17 dovetail-style collar, remainder of roof structure replaced probably in C18 with rough pegged trusses and waney rafters, but incorporating some smoke-blackened timbers.

Listing NGR: SS6325425239

Legacy

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LBS

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