Gatchells

Details

1661/0/10009
15-MAY-02

PITMINSTER
ANGERSLEIGH
Gatchells

II

House. Circa C15; altered circa early-mid C16; remodelled circa early C17 and C18; C20 alterations. Stone rubble, painted on west front and with plastered timber-frame north end gable. Thatched roof with gabled and half-hipped ends. Gable-end and axial stacks with brick shafts.

PLAN: three-room and cross-passage plan, the high end to the left [north], the hall open to the roof originally and separated from the unheated inner room and inner room chamber by a closed truss. In about the early-mid C16 a chimney stack was built at the low right side of the hall, backing onto the cross-passage, while the much reduced hall remained open to the roof. A ceiling was inserted into the hall in about early C17. The long lower end of the house might have been open to the roof, because the principals of one of the trusses are what seem to be re-used smoke-blackened timbers; it might have been extended at the south end where the stack is a later addition. The cross-passage low side partition has been removed and replaced by an axial partition to form a stair hall at the back. Later accretions include outshuts at the north end and on the west front of the south end, a conservatory at the south end and a porch on the west front.

EXTERIOR: two storeys. Asymmetrical four-window west front; C20 casements, on left of three-lights with earlier C20 two-light casements above below eyebrow eaves; C20 stone open-fronted porch to right of centre with two small casements above and to right; single-storey outshut on right with lean-to slate roof. Rear [east] circa earlier and later C20 one-,two- and three-light casements, some with glazing bars and doorway to right of centre. North end gable is plastered timber-frame and below is later outshut. Late C20 conservatory at south end.

INTERIOR: lower [south] room has deeply chamfered cross-beam with large hollow step stops and later fireplace. Chamfered head-beam to missing cross-passage low side partition. Hall has very large stone axial fireplace with chamfered plinth course in back, dressed chamfered jambs, large chamfered timber bressumer and stone corbel above; inserted framed ceiling with intricately moulded intersecting beams with carpenter's mitres. Inner room ceiling beams boxed in. Circa C18 simple balustrade at head of staircase, staircase itself replaced C20. Otherwise largely C20 interior joinery. Original Medieval roof survives over the high end of the house with a closed truss between the hall and inner room with a cambered collar mortice and tenoned to the principals, diagonal ridgepiece and large trenched purlins spanning the hall and with an intermediate truss over the inner room chamber; the north end truss has studs and a collar with a hip above; many of the original common-rafters and some of the thatching battens remain intact. The roof of the hall and the hall side of the closed truss is smoke-blackened; wattle-and-daub infilling above the collar of the closed truss has been removed, which might have caused the light sooting of the inner room chamber roof. Circa C18 halved, lapped and pegged collar trusses crossed at apex over low end of house, the principals of one seem to be made from re-used smoke-blackened timbers. Thatch is clean.

A good example of a small late Medieval open hall house with most of the original roof structure surviving and a fine C16 hall fireplace and early C17 inserted framed ceiling.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

489691

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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