Chaffcombe Farmhouse Including Cob Walls Adjoining to South and West, Down St. Mary, Devon

Description

DOWN ST MARY CHAFFCOMBE LANE
SS 70 SE
3/155 Chaffcombe Farmhouse including
26.8.65 cob walls adjoining to south and
west

GV II*

Farmhouse, former manor. Early C17, possibly earlier core. Mostly plastered cob
on rubble footings, some plastered rubble; stone rubble stacks topped with C19
brick; slate roof (formerly thatch).
Originally a 3-room-and-through-passage plan house facing south with inner room at
right (eastern) end. A fourth room, apparently a shippon, beyond the service room
has been partly demolished. Stair turret projecting to rear of hall and inner
room. 2 storey front porch. Axial stack serving back-to-back fireplaces between
hall and inner room, and axial stack at lower end of service room. 2 storeys,
once with attics.
Regular but not symmetrical 3-window front with a fourth to the porch, comprising
a variety of C19 windows. To right of porch is a horned 30-pane sash to hall and
a casement with glazing bars at right end to inner room. First floor windows
above are 16-pane sashes. Porch has a small first floor casement with glazing
bars. To left of porch service room has 16-pane sash and an early C20 4-light
casement with rectangular panes of leaded glass. Secondary plank door with side
light at left end. Porch is largely original. It has a richly-moulded oak outer
arch, a filletted ogee and ovolo mould with worn urn stops. At first floor level
there is a half-buried soffit-moulded oak bressumer. Gable has plain C19 windows,
a ground floor 4-light casement with glazing bars and first floor 16-pane sash.
Rear elevation has large stair block projecting square which contains C20
casements, those on left (east) side maybe blocking narrow doorways to a now-
demolished range to rear of inner room. C20 brick-walled bathroom outshot in
angle of stair and main blocks on right (west) side. Hall has early C17 oak 2-
light window with ovolo-moulded mullion and there is another slighly smaller
above. Rear passage door behind C20 brick-walled and monopitch roofed porch.
First floor window above is a late C17-early C18 oak 3-light flat-faced mullion
casement containing rectangular panes of leaded glass. Other windows are C19
casements. Stone mounting block against the wall immediately right of passage
door. West gable end is clad with corrugated iron and the house obviously once
extended further in this direction. Lower part of rear cob wall survives and
includes a blocked doorway and window. The position of end wall can be seen by
the house platform with the ground falling away beyond. This end room was once a
byre since there remains an old tethering post complete with iron tie bar.
Interior: very good and complete, with most early C17 features exposed. Front and
rear passage doors are C19 and panelled. Front door in early C17 frame which has
richly-moulded surround with urn stops but edges have been cut back to accommodate
the 6-panel door. All 3 main ground floor room have crossbeams with plain-
chamfered soffits. The hall was apparently floored from the beginning. Service
room has large kitchen fireplace, new reduced in width, with a roughly-finished
soffit chamfer to the oak lintel. The hall has a granite ashlar fireplace with an
oak lintel given a broad soffit chamfer and scroll stops. Late C17 or C18
cupboard to right has panelled door. Inner room crossbeam soffit has been hacked
back a little. Its fireplace has oak lintel and jambs made from single volcanic
ashlar blocks. It has broad moulded ogee surround. C18 cupboard in front wall
with shaped shelves.
Early C17 closed well staircase with solid oak treads. Oak doorframe to cupboard
under stairs has bead-moulded surround and plank door with vertical moulded
coverstrips. Similar cupboard door with butterfly hinges on first floor landing.
Doorway to stairhead lobby has chamfered surround with roll and double nick stops.
Another plank door hung onto plain franc with strap hinges to rising stairs. The
stairblock has been reduced in height. It must have originally been a tower
giving access to attics and with a small room over stairs.
Scratch-moulded arch from landing to main block and original first floor corridor
along back of main block. Original oak doorframes to master chamber (over inner
room and hall chamber, the former has ovolo-moulded surround with scroll-nick
stops and is partly restored, the latter has chamfered surround with roll and
double nick stops and has been cut back to accommodate a larger C19 door. Other
similar doors may remain behind C19 architraves. Master or inner room chamber and
hall chamber both have small early C17 fireplaces with oak lintels, former has
soffit ovolo moulding with step stops and latter is soffit-chamfered with scroll
stops. Both fireplaces have decorative sgraffito plasterwork on the jambs and
pentan comprising simple geometric designs and probably dated circa 1650-60. The
chamber over inner room, hall, passage and porch have early C17 moulded plaster
cornices which break forward around the front of the trusses. Roof timbers of
neatly squared oak timbers of large scantling and is carried on A-frame trusses
with pegged lap-jointed collars with dovetail halvings. Service chamber not
accessible at time of survey and may have different roof structure since ridge
drops slightly on the outside from passage to service room.
From right (east) end a high cob wall with slate coping extends southwards along
right end of garden. It includes a reset early C17 oak doorframe with a richly-
moulded (filletted ogee and ovolo) surround with massive urn stops. Being so
similar to the front door it may well be the original rear passage doorway.
Towards the left (west) end another high cob wall extends southwards along that
side of the garden as far as Chaffcombe Farm office (q.v.). There is a corrugated
iron roofed pentice roof resting on plain timber posts.
Chaffcombe is a very well preserved single period small manor house. Chaffcombe
is a Domesday settlement and site of a distinct medieval estate. The oldest deed
in the possession of owner records Walter Redcliffe of Ottery St Mary as owner in
1698.
Source: Devon SMR.

Listing NGR: SS7591703064

External Links

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