Description

GITTISHAM GITTISHAM (north side)
SY 19 NW

7/164 Crabbs Cottage including barn
adjoining at the north east

II

House. Possibly early C16 origins, remodlled and perhaps extended in the circa late
C16 (datestone of 1675 on the front wall), late C20 repairs. Whitewashed rendered
cob and stone rubble; thatched roof, gabled at the left end, half-hipped at the end
of the barn wing, most of the thatch replaced with slate to the rear of the ridge;
left end stack and 2 axial stacks, all with modern brick shafts.
Plan: L plan. the main range faces west, a single depth range, 4 rooms wide with an
outshut, the right end (south) room now incorporated into a barn wing which adjoins
the house at right angles and projects to the front. In the present arrangement
there is a small parlour with a stair cell behind at the left (north) end; the next
room south is heated with a comparatively small stack butted against an incomplete
plank and muntin screen on the south side of the room; then a large heated room with
comparatively plain carpentry detail and, at the south end and now incorporated into
the barn wing, an unheated room. There are no thick transverse walls in the house
and both axial stacks are associated wih thin partitions. The present entrance is
directly into the first room from the left but there may have been a through passage
in the centre of the house, within the width of the room with plainer carpentry
detail. Without access to the apex of the roof it is difficult to judge for certain
whether there is a medieval open hall core to the house. However, this seems highly
likely as a soot crust survives on the south side of a disused truss over the first
room from the right (south), representing either the remains of a room with an open
hearth or, alternatively a smoke bay, perhaps to a lower end kitchen. The axial
stack in the next room to the north, probably the hall, appears to be secondary,
perhaps replacing an earlier lateral stack, graffiti scratched on the north side
screen includes a date of the 1540s. The stair cell, entered through an original
doorway in the screen contains a probably C17 dog-leg stair. The stair cell and
front left (north) room may have been the original inner room. The barn is probably
an C18 addition.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 5 window front with a C20 recessed 2-leaf front
door to left of centre with a segmental arched doorway; datestone of 1575 over door;
2-and 3-light probably C20 timber casements with glazing bars. The inner return of
the barn has a C19 or C20 door. The outer return of the barn has a full-height
doorway and 3 windows, the end wall has a garage door.
Interior: The left hand front room has a chamfered axial beam, the room next right a
chamfered step-stopped crossbeam and plank and muntin screens at both sides, the left
hand screen has muntins chamfered and stopped and an original doorframe into the
stair cell. The right hand screen is interrupted by the stack, although the head
beam may be continuous; the finish is plainer than the north side screen. The next
room right has 2 rough crossbeams and an open fireplace with a bread oven. A
doorframe with cranked lintel on the rear wall leading into the outshut may be the
original rear door of the passage. The right hand room (with external access only at
present) is within the barn and open to the roof timbers. The stair, presumably a
C17 or early C18 insertion has plain newel posts and a handrail, no balusters.
Roof: Side-pegged jointed cruck construction. A closed truss rises above the left
hand plank and muntin screen, the partition infill partly removed to create an axial
passage along the rear wall of the first floor. A closed truss over the right hand
room within the house has a soot crust on the exposed timbers and the purlin. In the
extreme right hand room (in the barn) there is a framed partition behind the axial
stack. A jointed cruck truss survives in the barn, one cruck foot only surviving,
supported on a timber pad. The trusses in the barn wing are of an C18 character.
An intriguing house with good interior features and an important roof structure,
picturesquely sited. Group value with Curlditch and the pair of cottages to the
west.

Listing NGR: SY1350898353

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26570041

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

• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record