Summary
Former longhouse, probably built in the C17 with alterations in the late C18 or early C19.
Reasons for Designation
Higher Jurston Farmhouse, near Chagford, Devon is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* for its retained C17 cross-passage plan, typical of a Dartmoor longhouse of this date;
* the use of granite rubble moorstone in its construction demonstrates the vernacular traditions of the area;
* for the notable survival of a C17 plank-and-muntin screen, and also of later joinery during a period of improvement which adds to its interest;
* the shippon, whilst sub-divided, retains most of its historic floor surface and has not been domesticated.
Historic interest:
* the late-C18 or early-C19 alterations, alongside the earlier rear extension, reflect the changes in domestic requirements and document the upgrading of the farmhouse;
* for its contribution to the medieval settlement of ‘Jordanstone’.
Group value:
* with the neighbouring Lower Jurston Farmhouse, which is listed at Grade II*.
History
An estate at Jurston may have existed pre-Domesday and was first recorded as ‘Jordanstone’ in 1238. Documentary resources give derivations of this name throughout the following centuries, including as ‘Venn and Jesson’ in a tithing in 1384. The neighbouring Lower Jurston Farmhouse is thought to have originated as a late-C15 Dartmoor longhouse and the farmstead at Higher Jurston may have been constructed in the C17 perhaps as an annexe farm to Lower Jurston.
Higher Jurston farmstead is shown on the 1840 Tithe map, labelled as ‘Higher Jurstone’, a farmhouse with ancillary buildings to its south and west forming a yard, with further buildings across the lane. The buildings and 49 acres of land, including orchards, were owned by John Hooper of Ashburton and occupied by John Harvey. By the time of the first Ordnance Survey (OS) in 1886, the ancillary buildings appear to have been replaced, including a barn with a horse-gin house (or wheelhouse) to the west, and the farmhouse enlarged or altered on its east side.
Evidence from the fabric suggests that the farmhouse was constructed as a one-and-a-half storey thatched longhouse, probably in the C17. It had a shippon to the east, separated by a plank-and-muntin screen to the cross passage, with the stack in the central room backing onto the cross passage. A rear service extension existed across the rear of the cross passage pre-1840. In the late C18 or early C19 the house was subject to major alteration including the raising and slating of the roof to create taller first-floor rooms; a slight raise in the ground-floor ceiling height to the east; insertion of new windows in the front elevation; the addition of joinery including a timber staircase, fitted cupboards, internal doors, and the cladding of the plank-and-muntin screen on the passage side. The rear extension may have also been altered at this time. At some point, possibly in the mid-C20, a wall was added dividing the shippon and creating a small room off the passage with a garage with a store above to its east.
Details
Former longhouse, probably built in the C17 with alterations in the late C18 or early C19.
MATERIALS: mainly of granite rubble construction, mainly roughcast rendered. Slate roof, with corrugated-iron and asbestos sheet to ancillary parts. Timber doors and windows.
PLAN: three-room cross-passage plan, facing south, with former shippon to east, and pre-1840 extension to rear.
EXTERIOR: the farmhouse is two storeys with a three-bay front. The pitched roof is slate covered, with rendered chimneys to the west gable-end and axially. To the east the roofline drops (possibly to its historic height) and forms a garage with store over, with a further single-storey lean-to building on the far eastern end. The roofs here are corrugated sheet. The principal elevation has three timber three-light timber casements to the first floor, and two three-light casements on the ground floor with the main entrance to their right. The front door is probably mid-C20, planked and partially glazed with a bracketed canopy above. To the right is a mid-C20 window; to the right again the garage has C20 planked timber double-doors with a further timber door above; and there is a further C20 planked door to the end lean-to. The granite-rubble construction of the house is visible on the west elevation, and at its south end is a doorway with a tooled granite lintel; the opening is now infilled with red brick. To the rear (north) is a single-storey extension with partially-rendered external walls, corrugated sheet roofs and timber plank doors.
INTERIOR: the house is entered into a cross passage with early-C19 timber plank-panelling to the right, hiding a plank-and-muntin screen within the former shippon. The screen has slots in the top rail for the historic floor joists and evidence of animal activity at the base where it has disintegrated. The south wall contains a window in the position of a former external access to the shippon; the rubble-stone east wall is a later addition but includes a substantial timber cross beam. A wide early-C19 door to the north of the cross passage leads to a rear extension which has small windows and an external door. The space comprises a WC, store and ancillary area with a water pump and sink. The room to the left of the cross passage has chamfered cross beams, with the staircase in the north-east corner; it has a plank panelling and a ledge-and-brace door and is probably early C19. On the east wall is an inglenook (containing a C20 Rayburn) with a shaped lintel and shelf; to its left is a full-height settle and to its right are fitted cupboards with plank doors. Several iron hooks are fixed to the ceiling and cross beams. Adjacent to the stair a wide door leads to the rear extension, stepping up with a substantial stone step. The western ground-floor room has a fireplace on the west wall with an alcove to its left (historically an external door, now blocked), and opposite is a fitted cupboard with glazed doors with H-hinges to the top part.
On the first floor are three bedrooms. Each has a deep window reveal; the central space has fitted cupboards with plank doors next to the chimney breast; and the western room has a late-C19/ early-C20 fire surround and grate. There is evidence of the former height of the eaves on the north wall of the western room where there is a blocked window and a ‘shelf’ above created by the historic wall plate, which is also visible at the head of the stairs. Internal doors are timber ledge-and-brace throughout. Floors on the ground floor are concrete and to the first floor are C19 timber boards. Walls are plastered throughout. There appear to be several moorstone boulders at floor level to the historic external walls.
The garage, formerly part of the shippon, has a C20 ceiling structure on concrete block wall piers. The floor is cobbled with a central drain lined with larger stones running axially and disappearing under the western wall. There is a small window on the north elevation which may have been the dung hole, and there is evidence of wall tethering posts.
