Description

OTTERTON FORE STREET (north side)
SY 0885
Otterton
7/161 No.56 Basclose
30.6.61
GV II*
House. Probably C16 with major late C16 and C17 improvements, one dated 1627
according to date plaque. Plastered cob on stone rubble footings; stone rubble
stacks with some Beerstone ashlar detail, one with its original stone chimney shaft
and all topped with C19 brick, one Rolle Estate chimney pot; thatch roof.
3-room-and-through-passage plan house facing south onto Fore Street with the service
end room at the left (western) end. Both inner and and service end rooms have gable
end stacks, the former projecting. The hall has a projecting front lateral stack.
1-room plan rear block projecting at right angles behind inner room. Since interior
inspection was not possible its probable development from an open hall-house has to
be left for future determination. 2 storeys.
Regular but not symmetrical 4-window front. First floor windows are probably C17
oak frames with chamfered mullions; ground floor has C20 replacement casements, all
with rectangular panes of leaded glass. Those on the first floor rise a short
distance into the thatch. The front passage doorway is left of centre and contains
a C19 plank door and has a C20 rubble-walled porch with thatch monopitch roof.
Immediately to right is the hall stack. The stone is exposed and very attractive.
It is built of coursed brown-coloured local conglomerate stone blocks with cream-
coloured Beerstone quoins. It has weathered offsets and a tall original double
chimney shaft only the very top of which is built of late C19 brick. At the base of
the shaft there is a Beerstone date plaque inscribed IC 1627. Small fire window on
right side. The roof is gable-ended, so too is the rear block which also includes
casement windows similar to those on the front.
Interior was not available for inspection at the time of the survey, but the
occupants claim it has been carefully modernised and the carpentry detail is mostly
C16 and C17. However, the development of the house remains to be sorted out. The
date of 1627 presumably dates the flooring of the hall since the double shaft
indicates a first floor fireplace.
Basclose is the most attractive house on Fore Street which contains a fine group of
varied buildings, many of them listed.

Listing NGR: SY0815885282

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17546601

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

• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings