Description

WIDECOMBE-IN-
SX 77 NW THE-MOOR
2/179 Kingshead Farmhouse
-

GV II

Farmhouse; possibly a former longhouse. House part appears to be early C19, but
with a chimney that could well be C17; at the left-hand end is a shippon that may
be the remnant of a much earlier longhouse. Granite rubble. House has slated roof,
hipped at left-hand end. Shippon is covered with corrugated iron. House has a big
granite ashlar chimneystack with tapered top to left of ridge, next to the hip;
smaller granite ashlar stack on right-hand gable, probably C19. House has an
unusual double-depth plan, the rear section under a catslide roof. To the right are
2 rooms separated by a passage which leads to a staircase at the back; main living
room is to left, parlour to right. Behind them, under the catslide, is the dairy
with a stream channelled through it. At the left-hand end of the house is a wide
through-passage with its own large fireplace backing on to that of the main living-
room; there is no sign of a doorway into the shippon, but there is a blocked
borrowed light. 2 storeys; shippon is lofted. House has 4-window front; C19
wood casements with glazing-bars, except for 2 sash windows to right of second
storey. The 3 right-hand bays are symmetrically arranged with centre doorway, this
having a plank door with gabled wooden hood above. The left-hand bay is set some
way apart, and has a doorway in ground storey; this has a plank door and granite
lintel consisting of a re-used piece of stone with a large round moulding on the
lower edge. Shippon is set well back. It has a doorway at right-hand end with a
loft door above. In centre of ground storey is an inserted window flanked by 2
blocked ventilation slits. Both window and door have concrete lintels. At left-
hand corner of upper storey, just below the eaves, is a large granite corbel. The
gable-wall has a ventilation slit at the top; there never seem to have been slits
at a lower level, although part of the wall is obscured by an added lean-to. At
base of wall is an original, carefully constructed drain outlet. Rear of shippon
has a short range of pigsties built out at right-angles; just in front of it is a
circular feeding trough with a raised piece in the centre, cut from a single piece
of granite.
Interior of house has few features. The living-room has an old bench fixed to the
wall next to the passage. The through-passage at left-hand end has an old cobbled
floor with granite trough at rear; fireplace has plain granite lintel. Interior of
shippon concreted to make a C20 milking parlour.

Listing NGR: SX7119777602

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26551363

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

• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)