Description

HIGH HAM

ST42NW
LOW HAM

1090/5/55 Manor Farmhouse

17.4.59

GV II*

House. Circa late C15 or early C16; altered C17 and extended and remodelled C18. Dressed blue lias with some Ham stone dressings. Double Roman clay tile roof with stone coped gable ends. Brick and stone gable end and axial stacks.
PLAN: F-shaped on plan. Main range is of 3-room plan with chambers above; central hall with axial stack at lower end backing onto former cross-passage [lower side partition removed]; small lower left [W] room with gable-end stack with newel stair to side; large upper end divided axially into parlour and smaller room at front [now containing early C19 staircase]. In the early C17 a porch was built on the south front and the hall was panelled. In the C18 1-room plan additions were built at the left [W] end and at the front of the high right [E] end, and the rear [N] elevation was remodelled as the front.
EXTERIOR: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical south front with various stone mullion windows, sashes with glazing bars and casements; gable-ended wing on right with lean-to addition on right side; gabled 2-storey porch to left of centre with chamfered stone frame doorway and benches, the inner doorway with moulded wooden Tudor arch frame with plank door with cover-moulds and strap hinges; lower range on left with stone mullion windows and gable. Rear [N] asymmetrical 3-window front with large 12-pane sashes either side of panelled door with ornate wooden lattice porch with tent-shaped roof; three 16-pane sashes on first floor, and on right 3-light stone mullion window, blocked single-light cusped window, both with hoodmoulds, and small stone light to newel stairs; lower range on right [W]. 12-pane sashes on east gable end.
INTERIOR: Hall has compartmented ceiling with heavily moulded intersecting beams and moulded panelling with fluted pilasters to chimney-breast with grotesque masks [new stone chimneypiece. Parlour has heavy timber-framed walls, the axial wall with small 4-centred arch blocked doorway, and compartmented ceiling with heavily moulded intersecting beams; early C19 dog-leg staircase at high end. Low end room has moulded half-beam with mortices for former screen, and fireplace with large chamfered bressumer and newel stairs to side with chamfered Tudor arch doorway with studded plank door. Lower west end range has chamfered cross-beams with run-out stops and fireplace with re-used stone moulded Tudor arch bressumer. SE wing at high end has chamfered axial beam with step and run-out stops. Chambers of main range have exposed wall-framing and deeply chamfered cross-beams with hollow step stops. Main range has arch-braced roof with two tiers of wind-braces, remaining over hall and parlour chambers, the arch-braces and most of the wind-braces missing; closed truss between hall and parlour chambers; roof over lower end replaced in circa late C17 with tenoned-purlin structure with notched halved and lapped collars. Additions at west end and to SE have tenoned-purlin roofs.
SOURCES: [1] Buildings of England, p.224. [2] Somerset Vernacular Building Research Group; Report July 1998.

Listing NGR: ST4261231155

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17554260

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

• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
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  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
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  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)