Shute's Farmhouse

Details

Farmhouse. Mid-C15 former open-hall house with cross passage.

MATERIALS: Constructed of coursed Lias rubble stone on a plinth of dressed Forest Marble. The roof was originally thatched but has been raised and is now covered in pantiles. The chimney stacks are constructed of brick.

PLAN: A two-storey cottage with a linear, three-cell plan with a cross passage.

EXTERIOR: The street elevation (north-east) is three bays wide with gable end stacks and a central ridge stack with a moulded drip course. The principal entrance is to the left of centre. The four-plank door with strap hinges is within a four-centred-arched doorway with jambs. There is a C17 stone mullioned window to the left and the remains of a further mullioned window to the first floor. To the right hand end a C19 door has been inserted. The fenestration to the rear elevation is irregular and the rear wall has evidence of patching.

INTERIOR: To the interior survives a small section of the plank and muntin screen; the top rails survive to both sides and there is evidence of a former doorway to the service end. To the right of the cross passage is the former open hall with exposed chamfered ceiling beams and a large fireplace with bread oven set in a massive inserted stone stack. A staircase has been inserted into the west wall. There are remains of a timber and wattle and daub partition to the north end of the hall. There is a further room to the north end with chamfered ceiling beams. To the first floor the jointed crucks and the arch braces of the trusses are exposed. The roof retains its two mid-trusses which would have formed the roof to the open hall. These trusses are jointed crucks with arch-braced collars. The collars have ogee carving decoration to their centres. The trusses are smoke blackened and have been dated to the mid-C15. There is evidence for trenched purlins, but the purlins do not survive. There is a further plain, A-frame truss to the north end which has been dated to the late C16.

SOURCES: Trustees of Symondsbury Manor Estate, Shute's Farm, Symondsbury, Dorset, April 2008

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION Shute's Farmhouse is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It is a mid-C15 former open-hall house with cross passage * The two principal roof trusses to the open hall are smoke blackened and have been firmly dated to the mid-C15. They consist of jointed crucks with arch-braced collars with ogee carving decoration to the centre * It retains important historic fabric including the original plank entrance door within a four-centred-arched doorway and the remains of a plank and muntin screen * The later alterations add interest, such as the C17 inserted stack and ceiling to the hall

Listing NGR: SY4441193658

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

401684

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Inventory of Dorset, (1974), 238

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.