Description

ST 20 SW OFFWELL CLEAVE LANE

2/103 Lower Cleave Farmhouse
-

- II

Farmhouse. Probably C16 origins, the surviving early end was refurbished in the
early - mid C17, the rest was completely rebuilt in the late C19. The rear wall is
plastered cob on stone rubble footings, the front of the early section is local
stone and flint rubble laid to rough courses, and the later rebuild is of square
blocks of chert with brick dressings; stone rubble stacks and chimneyshafts; the
roof, probably thatch originally, corrugated iron to the outshots.
Plan and development: the farmhouse is built across the hillslope facing south-
west. It has a 4-room plan. The principal rooms are in the 2-room section to left
(north-west). Here is a parlour with a projecting gable-end stack to left and
dining room with an axial stack backing onto the dairy. Between these rooms is the
central entrance hall and main stair. This is the section which was rebuilt in the
late C19. The older section to right is set back a little from the main block and
it contains an unheated dairy and kitchen with a gable-end stack. It seems that the
original farmhouse had a 3-room-and-through-passage plan and in the late C19 the
hall and inner room end was rebuilt as the present principal rooms. Only the rear
wall survives from the earlier farmhouse here. The new build had to be braced with
ties in the early C20. However the passage and service end kitchen were retained
from the old farmhouse but the passage was converted to a dairy/buttery. House is 2
storeys with rear outshots.
Exterior: overall 3:2 - window front. The 3-window section, the newer build, is
symmetrical about a central doorway which contains a late C19 6-panel door under a
secondary hood. The doorway and flanking windows have brick segmental arches with
projecting Beerstone keystones over. The windows here are late C19 casements with
glazing bars. The cross-shaped cast iron ends of the tension ties show here, both
embossed with the makers name, Mickelburgh of Honiton. The right end of 2-window
section contains probably C18 oak windows at first floor level; both have flat-faced
mullions and contains rectangular panes of leaded glass. The kitchen window is an
early or mid C17 Beerstone 3-light window with ovolo-moulded mullions and hoodmould.
A C19 doorway at the right end is behind a C20 porch.
Interior: the main part of the house has only late C19 and C20 joinery detail. The
kitchen however has early-mid C17 carpentry detail. The fireplace here is blocked
but its enormous size is evident. The crossbeam has broad chamfers with bar runout
stops and partition between the kitchen and dairy/buttery/former passage is an oak
plank-and-muntin screen. The roofspace over this part is inaccessible although,
since no trusses show and the roof has the same pitch and height as the main part it
seems likely that the C16 or C17 structure has been replaced.
Cleave, alias Clive or La Clyve was a Domesday settlement.
Source: Devon SMR.

Listing NGR: ST2058000847

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26457247

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

• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living