Rydon Farmhouse

Details

ASHTON SX 88 SW 5/8 Rydon Farmhouse II* Former farmhouse. Early C16 origins, remodelled in the circa early/mid C17. Whitewashed rendered cob on stone rubble footings with exposed stone quoins, first floor of stair wing said to be of stud and plaster infill construction; thatched roof, gabled at ends, hipped at end of front wing, gabled at end of stair wing; left end stack with rendered shaft, axial stack with granite shaft, right end stack with rendered shaft and bread oven. Plan: In origin a late medieval open hall. 3 rooms wide, lower end to the left, with evidence of 2 open hearths. Both the lower end and inner room were floored before the hall, and jettied into it, the lower end room functioning as a parlour, the inner room as a kitchen. The hall was floored later with a stack inserted backing on to the passage and, presumably at the same time a rear stair was built in a wing opening off the hall, the winder stair rising to a small first floor landing. A front right wing, at right angles to the inner room may be a later, possibly C18 service wing or may have functioned as a farmbuilding. C18 or C19 rear lean-to to lower end room, formerly used as dairy but converted to domestic use in the late C20. Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 2 window front with the front door to the through passage to left of centre; to the right of the door an C18 or C19 3-light timber small pane casement lights the hall; 2 first floor 2-light C20 timber casements. The front right wing has a separate entrance on the front at the left and 1 first floor and 1 ground floor 3-light C20 timber casement with glazing bars. Interior: Very complete with high quality carpentry details. Plank and muntin screen between passage and lower end room to the left, short section of plank and muntin screen between passage and hall, the remainder of this wall occupied by the hall stack. The lower end room has 2 ovolo-moulded cross beams, one partly dressed-off, scratch-moulded joists and exposed first floor floorboards. The open fireplace has granite jambs, triangular on plan, and the remains of an ovolo-moulded timber lintel behind a replacement lintel. A chamfered doorframe on the rear wall probably marks the position of a former stair, subsequently removed, possibly when the dairy was added. The hall has a good open fireplace with chamfered granite jambs with pyramid stops, a moulded timber lintel and bread oven. A moulded doorframe in the rear wall gives access to the winder stair. The higher end hall partition is a plank and muntin screen with pyramid stopped muntins; chamfered jetty beams indicate internal jetties at both ends of the hall. The inner room has a plain cross beam and open fireplace with a chamfered lintel with one step stop and a bread oven, the right hand jamb has been partly rebuilt. The first floor has 2 C17 doors and doorframes leading off the stair landing. Roof: Sooted rafters survive the entire length of the main range, with one section of sooted thatch intact. 3 smoke-blackened main trusses ; probably jointed crucks, with mortised collars, a diagonally-set threaded ridge and trenched purlins. The rafters rest outside the purlins and are pegged on to the outer faces of the ridge. A closed truss above the lower end jetty is sooted on both sides, indicating 2 open hearths although it is not clear how this arrangement could have worked. There is no medieval truss over the lower end but a clean, probably C17 truss presumably added to give extra support to the sooted ridge and rafters. Circa late C16 clean truss over rear wing with a mortised collar.

Listing NGR: SX8456882868

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

85529

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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