Description

SY 09 SW ROCKBEARE

3/99 Higher Upcott
- Farmhouse
28.10.82
GV II

Farmhouse. Early C17, possibly earlier core, late C17 - early C18 dairy extension,
modernised in C19 and again circa 1980. Plastered cob on rubble footings; one stack
is cob, the other late C17 - early C18 brick on red conglomerate stone footings,
both topped with C19 and C20 brick; thatch roof and corrugated asbestos to the
outshots, slate to extension.
The main block faces south-east and the plan comprises 2 rooms separated by a broad
cross passage which contains the stairs (now C20 replacements) and projects a little
to rear. Both rooms have end stacks. The left room was presumably the kitchen from
the size of its fireplace. The right end stack projects and is brick. Unheated
dairy extension projects at right angles to rear of right end. C20 outshots across
rear, and a single storey C20 extension on left end, main house and dairy are 2
storeys.
Irregular front fenestration with 4 ground and 3 first floor windows; all 12-pane
sashes including some horned replacements. Front passage doorway now contains C20
door with contemporary gabled and tile-roofed porch. Roof is gable-ended. Most of
the windows to rear are C20 casements.
Interior. Main block has largely original early C17 fabric. The left-hand kitchen
has 2 soffit-chamfered and scroll-stopped crossbeams and although the fireplace is
blocked the large lintel is exposed and given a similar finish. In the right room
the crossbeam and half beam are also soffit-chamfered with scroll-stops but the
fireplace here is blocked. The roof is carried on 4 identical side-pegged jointed
cruck trusses with pegged dovetail-shaped lap-jointed collars and carry trenched
purlins and ridge. The timbers are clean as is the underside of the thatch but
nearly all the couples of common rafters are smoke-blackened: presumably they have
been reused after the rebuild of the late medieval farmhouse. Also the spacing of
the trusses suggests that the main block once extended further to the right (north-
east). The dairy has a late C17 - early C18 crossbeam with a roughly-finished
soffit chamfer but the roof here is inaccessible.

Listing NGR: SY0434294317

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26499224

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

• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]