Smithenhayes Farmhouse

Details

LUPPITT ST 10 SE 10/62 Smithenhayes Farmhouse - - II* Farmhouse. Early C16, enlarged and rearranged apparently in a single late C16 - early C17 building phase, modernised circa 1975. Local stone and flint rubble with a good deal of cob in the rear wall; stone rubble stacks one with a stone rubble chimneyshaft the other one topped with C19 brick; thatch roof, interlocking tile roofs to the outshots. Plan and development: 3-room-and-through-passage plan house facing south and built down a gentle hillslope. Uphill at the left (west) end is an unheated inner room, probably a former dairy or buttery. The hall next to it has an axial stack backing onto the passage and at the right end is the former service end kitchen with a gable-end stack. This layout is the result of a major late C16 - early C17 rearrangement and enlargement of the original farmhouse which occupied the inner room, hall and passage section. The stone rubble crosswall on the lower side of the passage is the original end wall. There were undoutedly some improvements to the house between the early C16 and the late C16 - early C17 but any evidence of them is either hidden or has been replaced. Nor is it possible to determine the early layout although it was certainly some kind of open hall house heated by an open hearth fire. House is 2 storeys with secondary lean-to outshots to rear. Exterior: irregular front fenestration with 4 ground floor windows and 3 first floor windows, all late C19 and C20 casements with glazing bars. The passage front doorway is right of centre and contains a C20 part-glazed plank door. Immediately to right the straight join shows between the original house and the kitchen extension. The roof is half-hipped to left and gable-ended to right. Interior: the passage is wide and floored with C19 brick. The rear doorway (now to the rear outshots) has an original early C16 oak frame and is a 2-centred arch. Another similar doorframe has been reset in the rear outshot which is now used as the kitchen. On the right (former kitchen) side of the passage the doorway contains a late C16 - early C17 oak doorframe with an unusually shaped head (like an angular ogee arch) and chamfered surround. Both the hall and former kitchen have chamfered crossbeams with pyramid stops although one crossbeam in the kitchen has unstopped chamfers. Both fireplaces are large and have limestone ashlar jambs, oak lintels and chamfered surrounds with pyramid stops. The hall fireplace has panelled cheeks with some interesting old graffitis. The oven in this fireplace is a C19 insertion. No carpentry is exposed in the inner room. On the first floor there was a small window in the rear wall over the passage doorway. It is blocked but still contains a late C16 - early C17 2-light oak window with chamfered mullion. During the circa 1975 renovation a contemporary larger 2- light window was removed from the rear wall of the hall. It and the western crossbeam there were found to be in the blocking of the original full height window embrasure, the upper sides of which were smoke-blackened from the original open hearth fire. Although there was only limited access available to the roofspace at the time of this survey the roof structure over the hall was seen to be smoke- blackened. It is carried on side-pegged jointed cruck trusses and there is an original hip cruck in the lower passage wall. The roof over the former kitchen extension is carried on late C16 -early C17 side-pegged jointed cruck trusses which are set into the tops of the crossbeams. Smithenhayes is an attractive,interesting and well-preserved farmhouse.

Listing NGR: ST1844104256

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

86615

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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