Description

BOTUS FLEMING BOTUS FLEMING
SX 46 SW
6/12 Churchtown
23.1.68
II*
Farmhouse, now house. Probably late C16-early C17, with additions and alterations of
the C19 and some C20 alterations. Slatestone rubble, partly rendered, with granite
dressings. Scantle slate roof with ridge tiles, gable end to right and hipped end to
left. The original stack at the right end has been removed, and there is a front
lateral stack to the inner room to right with rendered shaft and shaped top. Rear
lateral hall stack with rendered shaft and shaped top.
Plan: The existing house may be the main range of a formerly larger building ; what
remains is a 3-room and cross passage plan. The lower end room is to left, unheated,
probably with the end wall rebuilt without a stack. There is a winder stair inserted
at the front of the lower end room, probably in C18 or C19. The hall is to right of
the passage, heated by a rear lateral stack and with a stair tower to right of the
stack. The inner room is to end right, with a gable end fireplace; this appears
never to have been used of ground floor level. A second stack was inserted in the
front, with the fireplace in the front corner of the room. Probably in the C18 or
C19, a single storey stable/outhouse was added to the lower left end, forming an L-
plan; in early C20, this was raised in height, to give an additional room at first
floor.
Exterior: 2 storeys, nearly symmetrical 4-window front, with rough quoins, rebuilt at
the right end. First floor has four 3-light granite windows, with chamfered
mullions, roll-moulded surround and C20 leaded casements. Ground floor has 3-light
window to the left, with plain hood mould, same mullions and surround. The passage
doorway is in granite with 4-centred arch, recessed spandrels with roundels, roll-
moulding with rounded stops; studded door, probably the original door, C20 slate
hood; the doorway has a dripstone remaining from the original hood mould; this would
have had label stops with initials D and W; these label stops have been reset in the
wall to right and left, the W set upside down. These may be the initials of Digory
Wills, who lived at Moditonham (qv) in the early C17. The hall has a 4-light
granite window with king mullion, same mouldings and hood mould with label stops.
Same 4-light window to inner room. Attached and set back to left, the attached
outhouse range; this is rendered, with ground floor string course at former eaves
level. Two C20 windows at ground floor and first floor, all 2-light casements. End
stack, and single storey continuation in an L-plan, with C20 door. The left end of
the house is roughcast. The right end is roughcast, with ground floor 2-light
granite window with same mouldings and hood mould; first floor has 2-light hollow-
chamfered granite casement without hood mould. At the rear, there is a wide stair
tower with pitched roof behind the hall, with a C19 window of 2 cusped lights in
wood. Rear lateral hall stack. The lower end room has a 2-light C20 casement with
timber lintel at ground floor, with iron stanchions. First floor has 2-light C20
casement and attic has 2-light C20 casement. The rear of the addition is partly
rendered, and has 2 C20 2-light casements.
Interior: The passage has an unusually thick wall to the lower side; this wall does
not appear to be thick enough to have contained a flue for an axial fireplace. No
evidence of a rear passage rear door. There is a solid masonry passage/hall wall to
right; the hall has a rear lateral fireplace in granite, with thick roll-moulding to
the surround and vestigial ogee in a curve to the centre. Although the stair tower
is built behind the hall, the access to the stair tower is in the inner room. The
inner room has a fine plasterwork ceiling, with strapwork, fruit and leaves and
central rose; moulded cornice partially renewed. The gable end fireplace has the
granite surround re-used from the chamber over the inner room; this also has a roll-
moulding, with vestigial ogee with roundel to centre. The windows are hollow-
chamfered on the inside, with sockets for iron stanchions. The corner fireplace has
a C19 mantel. At first floor, the rooms have C19 partition walls; the chamber over
the inner room retains a C17 door, in its original ovolo-moulded and scroll-stopped
frame, the door in 8 panels, with moulded raised battens and studs.
The roof is reached by a straight stair to the attic; all C19 reconstruction.
There was formerly a stack at the higher gable end, removed by c. 1900 ; the inner
room was probably heated at ground floor from the front stack and at first floor from
the gable end stack.

Listing NGR: SX4035161284

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17534737

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

• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings