Description

WIDECOMBE-IN-
SX 77 NW THE-MOOR
2/182 Ley Farmhouse
-

- II*

Longhouse. C16 or earlier; the house part rebuilt in late C17 or early C18.
Granite rubble. House part thatched; shippon, which has a lower roof-line, part-
slated, part-covered with corrugated iron. Large stone chimneystack (heating former
hall) on right-hand gable of house part; plain, projecting course of stones just
below the top, forming a cap. 3-room and through-passage plan with hall and inner
room to left, shippon to right. The shippon is unusual for Dartmoor in not having a
stone wall dividing it from the passage, but simply a rough stud partition boarded
on the passage side; there is a separate external door to the shippon, but this may
be a C19 insertion. 2 storeys; shippon with loft originally, of which part remains.
Single-storey addition at right-hand end. House part is 2 windows wide, all windows
having 2-light C19 wood casements with 3 panes per light. Small doorway at left-
hand end of ground storey. Both this and the 2 ground-storey windows have
projecting granite lintels, chamfered on top to throw off rainwater. Stone
entrance-porch with slated pent roof abutting junction of house and shippon; stone
seat in left side. Front wall of shippon is set back a little. The door directly
into shippon, immediately right of porch, has a re-used granite gatepost for a
lintel. Above porch is a loading doorway with plank door having old wrought-iron
strap-hinges. At right angles to the right-hand end of shippon is a stone building,
possibly a pigsty, with pent roof covered with corrugated iron. There have never
been ventilation slits on this side of the shippon, but there are 2 in the rear wall
and 3 in the gable wall. The lower part of the rear wall projects at a different
angle from the rest of the building, suggesting that the shippon has been partly
rebuilt and also heightened. Loft door with old wrought-iron strap hinges at left-
hand end.
Interior: former hall has fireplace, possibly of C16, with hollow-moulded granite
jambs and lintel; blocked oven at left side having a shallow granite shelf in front.
Rounded recess to left of fireplace may have contained a staircase; it is lit by a
small window in rear wall. Chamfered upper floor beams without stops. Roof has
simple trusses with collars pegged to the faces of the principal rafters; no common
rafters, just heavy thatching spars. The back of hall fireplace towards passage is
without architectural features. Shippon has well-made central drain of granite
blocks; on each side is a line of stone defining a feeding trough, these having
holes on top for tethering posts. Plain, heavy loft beams. C20 roof timbers.

Listing NGR: SX7231279389

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17535581

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

• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)