Description

KINGS NYMPTON
SS 62 SE
1/133 Sletchcott
20.2.67
- II
Farmhouse, now holiday home. Probably early C16, remodelled in late C16 or early
C17, extended in mid to late C17 and altered at lower end probably in C18. Painted
roughcast rendered stone rubble and cob. Thatch roof with gable ends. Axial stone
rubble stack and brick shaft to stone rubble stack at left end.
Plan: 5 rooms in line, with direct entry into the second room from the left, the 2
larger left-hand rooms being heated, with 3 smaller rooms to right, lower end.
Unusual multiphase development. The early core of the building is confined to the
second room from the right, which consists of a former open hall. There is no access
to the roofspace but the impressive raised cruck truss and definite evidence of a
jetty beam leaves no doubt that the hall roof timbers are smoke-blackened. However,
the jetty beam is directly below the hall truss which is closed above first floor
level; both are virtually central suggesting the hall may have been partially floored
at the lower end from the outset. There is a winder staircase in the rear right-hand
corner. The stack, unusually at the upper end of the hall was probably inserted and
the remainder of the hall ceiled in the early C17. There are massive cob partitions
at each end of the hall, and there is no evidence of a cross-passage - the unusual
possibility exists therefore that Sletchcott was originally a single room direct
entry open-hall house. The inner room end is certainly an addition of the mid to
late C17. The lower end has been altered in the late C20 but probably consisted of a
dairy and salting house, creating 2 narrow rooms, with the third room at the right
end being a later addition and originally used as a lofted cider-house All three
rooms are unheated.
Exterior: 2 storeys. 5 window range. Principally C20 fenestration, 2-light
casements, 6 panes per light, except on each floor at left end which are 3 light
casements. Large C20 hall window. Hipped thatched porch and 2 further doors to
lower end to right.
Interior: inner room has ovolo moulded fireplace lintel and heavy square-section
axial joists. Hall has virtually central cross ceiling jetty beam with deep chamfers
and hollow step stops. Chamfered bressumer at lower end. At the upper end of the
hall, the higher ceiling level indicates a later inserted floor, with 2 axial beams
and half bressumers to front and rear. The feet of the studs of the closed truss
partition above the jetty beam are partially visible. The single raised cruck truss
has a visible morticed and tenoned cambered collar and probably 2 tiers of threaded
purlins. The purlins over the inner room are entirely carried on the hall, inner
room and gable end walls. The lower end has the feet of a single truss with rough
straight principals visible, clearly a much later roof structure. Some C19 plank
doors survive.

Listing NGR: SS6798321163

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26611314

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

• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability