Church House and Dove Cote

Details

SX 77 SE
7/23
23.8.55

BICKINGTON
BICKINGTON
Church House and Dove Cote

GV
II*

Pair of houses, formerly one house, Church House (on left) is believed to be the pre-reformation church house. Church House is C16; Dove Cote is an addition of the late C16 or early C17. Solid, roughcast walls of stone or cob. Asbestos-slated roofs. Projecting chimney-stack in each gable. The left-hand stack has a rebuilt shaft, probably of brick under the rendering; right-hand stack is of stone rubble with a wide, deep projection, offset, and a thick shaft. Built into the right-hand side of the latter stack, just above the offset, are 3 pigeon holes, believed (from oral tradition) to have been added in mid C19.
In front wall of Church House, off-centre to right, is a projecting stack with offsets, the thick shaft covered with hard C20 render. Church House has a 2 room and through-passage plan, the former hall (with lateral fireplace) probably on the right. It must have been a free-standing house originally, since there are 2 blocked upper-storey windows in the right-hand gable wall. Dove Cote has a 1-room plan, at present entered through the right-hand gable; there is a blocked doorway in the solid, full-height wall dividing the 2 houses. There is a single-storeyed C19 lean-to behind Church house. 2 storeys 5 window front, the 2 right-hand windows belonging to Dove Cote. Windows at Church House are all C19 wood casements with glazing bars, except for C20 window at left-hand end of ground storey. Dove Cote has C20 plastic windows. Church House doorway to left of stack has stone porch with slated pent roof covered with cement; this seems to extend
over oven projection at right-hand side. Old plank door with small window cut into it. At sill level in upper storey is an early stringcourse, extending (except where it is worn away) from the left corner of the building to the projecting stack. Interior of Church House has stud-and-panel screen to left of through-passage, the studs and head-beam having three quartered-round mouldings; the doorway (mutilated to insert later door) has a curved head, similarly moulded, which appear to have been shouldered originally. Studs on reverse side are plain, but one end of this side of screen is plastered and carries a wall
painting, probably of early or mid C18, consisting of a blank panel with a broad frame of C-scrolls. In gable-wall a fireplace with chamfered wood lintel. Former hall, to right of passage, is entered through an old plank door with wrought-iron strap-hinges. Fireplace has chamfered stone jambs with stone corbels at the top, the latter carrying a chamfered wood lintel with step-stops; the right-hand corbel, though apparently original, is not chamfered. Oven on right side with brick openings. Central upper floor beam and 2 half-beams are cambered and chamfered with bar-stops. Front window to left of fireplace has some old plank doors, Old wattle and daub partition over middle of gall. Roof has 6 side-pegged, jointed-cruck trusses, including 2 gable-trusses; cranked collars,
threaded purlins, no ridge-piece. Timbers not smoke-blackened. House retains much old wall-plaster. Ground storey room of Dove Cote has central upper floor beam and 2 half beams, all cambered and chamfered with step-stops; plain joists. Large gable fireplace has chamfered wood lintel, partly concealed by upper floor beam. On left-hand side a hollowed chamfer with its own flue has been cut in; it may have been a smoking chamber. On right-hand side, at the back a large flue has been inserted; its purpose is uncertain, since there is no obvious opening to it from below. The thick masonry to left has a large recess half-way up, this having a ventilator pipe in its rear wall. Roof truss exposed in upper storey has short cruck foot at the front. Roof-space not inspected.
The 2 houses were Church property until 1924.
Source photo in National Monuments Record (described as Bickington Post Office)

Listing NGR: SX7999772690

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

85221

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.