Description

SX 86 NW BROADHEMPSTON BROADHEMPSTON
2/76 Manor Farmhouse including garden
23.8.55 boundary wall to north-west
GV II
Farmhouse. Some C17 fabric, front block added in 1774, considerably modernised in
late C20. Small ashlar block walls to front block, rubble to rear wing. Slate
roof, half hipped at either end. 3 large projecting stone lateral stacks at rear
with late C20 brick shafts.
Original rear wing was of 3-room and through-passage plan with screens passage and
fireplace at inner end of hall and lateral at front of lower room. In 1774 a new
block was added at right angles, parallel to the road which had a central entrance
hall with heated room to either side and probably one behind the hall each served by
the rear lateral stacks; the rear wing was probably relegated at this time to
service purposes. In the early 1980's a severe fire damaged the front block
destroying many of its original features.
2 storeys. Symmetrical 3-window front block with central door. Ground floor
windows are circa early C19 16-pane sashes with narrow glazing bars and no horns
(glass replaced after fire). On first floor are C20 facsimiles which are not so
tall. All windows have flat stone arches. C19 door with flush panels and
rectangular fanlight above. Original porch hood above the door supported on wooden
brackets, with small dentilled cornice at the front. Plaque above inscribed with
'I.T. 1774' which refers to one of the Tozers who were Lords of the Manor. At the
rear of the front block are 3 symmetrically placed lateral stacks. A late C20
extension has been added behind these with a contemporary conservatory to its left.
The earlier wing is behind the left-hand side of the front block.
Interior: of earlier wing is releatively complete. Both plank and muntin screens
survive and are of a C17 type with beaded edges to the muntins and a cranked head
doorway into the hall. The joists also have beaded edges. The hall has a cross
beam with bar and hollow step stops and joists with beaded edges. Its fireplace has
a chamfered timber lintel with indistinct stops, cut away at the centre. The lower
room has 2 identical cross beams and the same type of joists as the hall. The
fireplace here has either been blocked or removed. At the rear of the hall is a
newel staircase with renewed wooden treads. Very few of the original fittings
survive in the front block, the panelled shutters that remain in the left-hand room
probably date from an early C19 updating of the house.
To include rubble wall in front of house which encloses the forecourt on 3 sides and
incorporates a mounting block on the left-hand side near the house which has a small
wrought iron gate at the top where there is a gap in the wall. There is also a
wrought iron gate at the centre of the front wall bordering on the road.
This was obviously an important house at both main building stages with good quality
features surviving from each. The effects of the recent fire have unfortunately
destroyed much of the good quality joinery likely to have existed in the C18 part
although original features such as the staircase had apparently already disappeared.
Nevertheless the imposing facade of the C18 block is virtually unaltered and forms
an important feature of the main village street.

Listing NGR: SX8048166263

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26389566

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

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  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
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  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
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  Old House Care and Repair
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  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)