Parford House

Details

SX 78 NW
7/126

DREWSTEIGNTON
SANDYPARK

Parford House

GV
II

Large farmhouse. Early or mid C16 with later C16 and C17 improvements; a major
early C20 refurbishment involved a rearrangment of the original house with
extension-; small extension of circa 1980. Plastered granite stone rubble with some
cob in the older part; stone rubble stacks topped with early C20 brick; thatch roof
and lead roof to rear block.
Plan and development: long main block facing south on a level site. The main
section of this towards the right (east) is the historic part. It has a 3-room-and-
through-passage plan. The inner room is that at the right (east) end and has a
gable-end stack. The hall has an axial stack backing onto the passage and the
service end room has an end stack serving the first floor chamber only. This stack
is now axial and backs onto an early C20 1-room plan extension at that end. This
extension is taller than the older block and breaks forward a little from the main
block. It has a gable-end stack on the left end. In fact the ground floor room was
knocked through to the former service end room to create a large drawing room. The
main stair is early C20 and rises up the back wall of the former service room from
the passage. Also in the early C20 a flat-roofed 2-storey kitchen block was built
behind the former hall and passage. This includes a second stair and both stairs
share a large landing lit by a cupola on the flat roof. The original core has been
much altered but the original hall was open to the roof and heated by an open hearth
fire. Both inner and service end rooms were probably floored from the beginning. A
hall stack was inserted probably in the late C16 and the hall floored over at the
same time or a little later. Circa 1980 1-room plan single storey extension left
end of the main block. Main house is 2 storeys throughout.
Exterior: 1:1:5 window front overall. At the left end the circa 1980 extension
window and its french window have no glazing bars. Next to it the early C20
extension has full height bay windows on each floor, both with granite reveals and
mullions, 3-forward lights with centre french windows and all with glazing bars.
The upper French windows lead onto a balcony fenced with turned balusters and
supported on timber posts. The 5-window section, the original farmhouse, has early
C20 casements of different size and includes 2 ground floor Trench windows. The
main doorway, the original passage front doorway, is left of centre in this section
and contains an early C20 part-glazed and panelled door with a solid bead-moulded
surround. Across the front here is a tile-roofed verandah on rustic posts. The
roof is gable-ended, stepping up to the early C20 extension. The end wall of the
early C20 extension contains granite-mullioned windows. This ground floor one, and
a larger one in the rear block lighting the stair landing, have leaded glass
including panels of painted glass. On the right end is an early C20 gabled porch
containing an arch-headed door and window.
Interior: despite the early C20 refurbishment the older part appears to be
relatively well-preserved. The basic layout is intact although little actually
shows. The fireplaces are blocked by early C20 grates and the only carpentry
exposed is the late C16 - early C17 hall crossbeam ; it is soffit-chamfered with step
stops. C17 oak cupboard to rear of hall with carved diamond motif on its door.
Rear passage doorframe is solid and probably earlier than the early C20. The roof,
at least that over the hall, passage and service end room, is original. Here the
top of an oak-framed closed true cruck truss can be seen over the lower side of the
passage. The 2-bay roof over the service end includes an open true cruck truss with
cambered collar. The 2-bay roof over the hall carries an apparently contemporary
side-pegged jointed cruck truss,also with a cambered collar. The roof over the
hall, including the purlins, common rafters, hall side of the crosswalls and
underside of the thatch, is thoroughly smoke-blackened from the open hearth fire.
Over the passage, at the apex, and close to the framed crosswall, there remains the
unusually extensive remains of the original smoke louvre (an unusual and very
important survival). The service end roof is clean. The inner room roof is
separated from the hall roof by a stone rubble crosswall; it is clean and comprises
only couples of common rafters and therefore of indeterminate date.
Although earlier features may survive behind later plaster in the old farmhouse the
whole of the house interior is essentially the result of the early C20
modernisation. The stairs are Queen Anne in style with twisted balusters. Some of
the chimneypieces are Adams-style and one, in the former service end room chamber,
includes some reused late C17-early C18 hand-painted Delft tiles.
This is an interesting farmhouse. The remains of the late medieval smoke louvre are
probably of national interest.

Listing NGR: SX7134089895

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

94920

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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