Description

KENN
SX 98 SW

5/147 Whitcombe Farmhouse

- II

Former farmhouse. Circa late C16, possibly a remodelling of an earlier house.
Whitewashed rendered cob on stone rubble footings ; slate roof (formerly thatched)
gabled at ends ; end stacks and axial stack to main block, the axial stack with a
stone shaft with drip ledges.
Plan: 3 room and cross passage main range, lower end kitchen to the left, hall stack
backing on to the passage, crosswing containing unheated service rooms at the left
end. The stair rises in a turret at the rear of the hall but has been altered. The
house may have originated as an open hall but the apex of the roof was destroyed by
fire in the early C20 (information from owner). A small cottage adjoining at the
right end is probably a C19 addition.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 6 window front with steps up to a C20 timber front
door to left of centre. C19 and C20 timber casement windows, except for the fourth
window from the left on the first floor which is a late C16 or C17 4-light timber
mullioned window. The rear elevation has a stair projection at the rear right and 4
casement windows with a C20 door into the lower end room.
Interior: Richly carpentered. The hall has a good original fireplace with stone
jambs and a chamfered lintel with unusual rounded stops ; step-stopped crossbeam and
exposed joists; plank and muntin oak screen between hall and inner room with
chamfered muntins stopped off at hall bench level. The inner room has an exposed
chamfered crossbeam and joists, the fireplace rebuilt in the C20. The kitchen (to
the left) has a rough exposed crossbeam and exposed joists, the fireplace has been
rebuilt, the lintel probably original, 2 bread ovens. The passage has a plank and
muntin screen to the lower end partition, the doorway has been moved but the original
doorframe with an arched lintel survives. The service wing, formerly 2 rooms but now
1, has exposed carpentry of a probably C18 date.
Roof: Apex said to be burnt away (information from owner) but the remains of side-
pegged jointed cruck trusses survive, visible on the first floor.
A late C16 or earlier traditional farmhouse with good interior details.

Listing NGR: SX9276784190

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26389953

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

• 
  For the Record
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990