Description

ILSINGTON
SX 87 SW
8/91 Rora Farmhouse
-

- II

Farmhouse. C16 or possibly earlier, with added lean-to at rear. Roughcast
exterior; stone ground storey with cob above, but upper part of left-hand gable and
probably also the right-hand gable have been rebuilt in stone. Upper storey of
entrance porch is timber-framed. Thatched roof, half-hipped. In rear wall, off-
centre to left, a large projecting chimneystack of big granite blocks; late C19 or
early C20 red brick shaft on top. Rounded oven projection at base of stack. In
right-hand gable wall and in rear wall of lean-to, a yellow brick stack of late C19
or early C20. 3-room and through passage plan with narrow unheated inner room;
fireplace in rear wall of hall, 2-storied entrance porch in front. 2-storeys, 4-
window front, although there is now no second storey window in the right-hand bay.
Windows have C19 or early 020 wood casements with 2, 3 or 6 panes per light, except
for the left-hand ground storey window which has no glazing bars. Open fronted
porch in second bay from right has stone side-walls; timber framed upper storey is
known to have close-studding beneath plaster, weathered as if it had originally been
exposed. Plank door within porch. Large buttress against right-hand gable.
Interior has preserved much of its C19 character, with irregular plaster wall
surfaces. Through-passage retains part of a C16 or C17 timber-framed partition on
the hall side. Hall has chamfered upper floor beam with large convex stops, laid
parallel to the ridge. Beneath it at the upper end is a large, carved wood console,
probably early or mid C17. At upper end is a plank-and-muntin screen with chamfered
studs having straight-cut stops; studs are plain on reverse side to inner room. In
the ceiling just in front of the screen on the hall side is a slight projection,
possibly covering an internal jetty into a medieval open hall. Fireplace in rear
wall has monolithic granite jambs, chamfered with worn pyramid stops at the foot.
Lintel, set high up, is plastered in, but present owner says there is a massive
piece of granite underneath. Projecting from the wall above; just under the
ceiling, is a shaped wooden bracket, probably supporting the hearth of a late C16 or
C17 fireplace on the upper floor. Second storey is open to the collars, though the
timber of partitions and roof are mostly plastered in; apex of roof is not
accessible, but owner does not recall seeing smoke-blackened thatch during re-
thatching. The partition between rooms over lower room and through-passage is
fixed to a closed truss; the soffit of the tie-beam at the point where a door has
been cut through shows pointed stake-holes for wattle and daub. Partition between
rooms over passage and hall, which is not fixed to a truss has a similar horizontal
timber with round stake-holes beneath and fragments of pegged studwork at a lower
level. The partition also seems to contain 2 moulded door jambs, now concealed
under wallpaper. Room over hall has a plastered roof truss with curved feet to the
principal rafters, which must be either raised or jointed crucks.

Listing NGR: SX8012774315

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26533576

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

• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period property manual, victorian house manual 2 books collection set by ian rock
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House