Description

SS 81 SE CRUWYS MORCHARD
2/63 Coombe Farmhouse
-
II
House. Circa early C16 origins, remodelled in 2 phases in the circa early C17;
probably extended at the right end in the C18, accommodation extended into adjoining
probably C18 stable at the left end. Colourwashed plastered cob and stone rubble ;
the roof thatched to the front with part of the rear thatch replaced with pantiles,
hipped at right end. The former stable, at the left end, is roofed with corrugated
iron and gabled at the left end; axial stack with brick shaft, probably C19 rear
right lateral brick stack.
Plan: The present plan is single depth, 5 rooms wide, the left hand room a converted
stable, the right hand room probably an C18 addition. The late medieval arrangement
was an open hall house (lower end to the right) which extended from the right hand
wall of the present stable to beyond the axial stack - i.e. the 2 left hand of the 3
middle rooms and probably the right hand room. The exact extent of the medieval
building to the right of the stack is is uncertain because of limited access to the
roofspace. The medieval plan is particularly interesting because it included 2 rooms
with open hearths (closed truss sooted on both sides), the left hand and middle
rooms. The circa early C17 remodelling of the open hall house appears to have
involved adding a stack (presumably backing on to a cross or through passage which no
longer exists) prior to inserting the ceiling : thus there would have been a period
when the hall was open to the roof timbers but with a stack. The putative cross or
through passage has disappeared, giving a plan form of 3 rooms in the centre of the
present range with unheated inner room to the left ; early C17 hall/kitchen in the
middle heated from the axial stack and a lower end room adjoining the hall/kitchen.
The room at the extreme right is probably a later addition and has been subdivided
for service rooms.
2 storeys. Asymmetrical 5 window front with irregular fenestration, former stable at
the left end. Fixed window with C20 glazing to right of centre is probably the
original front entrance to the old passage; large rounded bread oven to left of fixed
window; C20 corrugated iron porch on front at right. Small windows with timber
casements, mostly with glazing bars.
Interior 2 side-pegged smoke-blackened jointed cruck trusses with a diagonally-set
ridge and considerable survival of smoke-blackened rafters, battens and heavily-
sooted thatch. The truss between the inner room and hall is closed and sooted on
both sides. On the ground floor the circa early C17 hall has an open fireplace with
stone rubble jambs and a chamfered lintel carried on a timber corbel at the left end,
the corbel rounded and continuing the lintel chamfer. A chamfered scroll-stopped
axial beam rests, rather awkwardly, on top of the lintel but oversails it on the left
side where it is supported by a moulded bracket fixed to the left end of the lintel
and corbel. This unusual arrangement indicates that the insertion of the beam is
secondary to the fireplace. There is a steep step up to the inner room (to the left)
through a rounded shouldered doorway with a plank door with strap hinges. The
ceiling plaster of the hall cuts off the head of the doorframe suggesting that the
doorframe may pre-date the ceiling. A straight stair rises from the hall against the
rear wall ; chamfered doorframe between hall and lower end room. The lower end room
has a deeply chamfered crossbeam and a chamfered axial beam.
An interesting vernacular house with a good survival of C16 and C17 features.

Listing NGR: SS8564811868

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26545816

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)