Description

SY 08 NE NEWTON POPPLEFORD EXETER ROAD,
AND HARPFORD Newton Poppleford
5/56 Seniors Guesthouse
-

- II

Guesthouse, former farmhouse. Probably mid-late C16 with major C17 improvements,
modernised in late C19. Plastered cob on stone rubble footings, some late C19
repairs; cob or stone rubble stacks topped with C20 brick, thatch roof, concrete
tile roof to outshots.
3-room-and-through-passage plan house facing north with the inner room on the left
(eastern) end. Hall has axial stack backing onto passage and service end room has
large kitchen end stack. Late C19 brick outshots across rear which include a stack.
Main house is 2 storeys.
Irregular front fenestration late C19 and C20 casements with glazing bars. Each of
the 3 ground floor rooms has a window. That to the inner room is a C20 French
window and there is a fourth tiny ingle-light to the hall fireplace. Only the
chamber over the hall has a front window. The front passage doorway is to right of
centre and contains a late C19 6-panel door with a C20 open porch with semi-conical
thatch roof. Roof is half-hipped to left and gable-ended to right. The left end
wall is possibly rebuilt in brick and includes a late C19 6-pane sash.
Interior. The house was modernised in the late C19 and much of the early structure
is hidden behind plaster of that date. Although no C16 features are exposed the
well-preserved layout suggests a house of that date but much improved in the C17.
All the partitions are plastered over. The service end room was improved in the mid
C17. The crossbeam of that date is soffit-chamfered with unusual stops, a kind of
reverse scroll with two nicks. The fireplace is probably contemporary but is
blocked by a C19 grate. Nevertheless its massive size is evident. The cupboard to
the left was probably originally a walk-in smoking chamber since it was connected to
the fireplace through its side by an arch at hearth level. The hall fireplace is
probably cob since its soffit-chamfered oak lintel is propped by oak posts each end.
It is probably early C17. The axial beam here is soffit-chamfered with scroll
stops. Against the fireplace the beam is carried on an oak post which suggests that
the floor was inserted into a hall originally open to the roof. No carpentry shows
in the inner room. Upstairs the roof trusses are boxed into the partitions and the
roofspace is inaccessible.
Although relatively little can be seen of the early house its structure appears to
be well-preserved. Care should be taken here since any modernisation work is likely
to uncover C16 or C17 features. For' instance the main crosswalls are timber-framed,
almost certainly early, and may included plank-and-muntin screens. The roof too may
be of considerable interest.

Listing NGR: SY0785889482

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26499035

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

• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period property manual, victorian house manual 2 books collection set by ian rock