Description

BISHOPS TAWTON
SS 52 NE
10/18 Wellesley Farmhouse
including privy approximately 15
metres to west
GV
II
Farmhouse, C17 with C19 extension and alterations. Painted rendered stone, with
some cob to rear projection. Slate roof with late C19 crested ridge tiles and
gable ends. Stone rubble stacks at each end with tapered cap and drip. Tall brick
rear lateral hall stack enclosed in C19 2-storey dairy and salting-house. Outshut
to rear. 3-room, through-passage plan with principal staircase in wide through-
passage with 2-storey porch and secondary stairs and former servants garret rooms
in short right-angled gable-ended projection to rear upper end forming overall L-
shaped plan. 2 storeys and part attic storey. 4-window range C19 2-light
casement, 6 panes per light to porch otherwise C20 casements of 3 lights. Timber
lintel to straight-headed porch entrance with ovolo moulded inner arris with
pyramid stops. Wooden benches to both sides of porch. Fine C17 inner doorway with
cyma reversa moulding and ornate scroll stops to the durns. Plank door in C17
style of 2 leaves with cover strips and strap hinges. Rear projection has a timber
chamfered mullion window of 2 lights to the attic storey.
Interior: Ground floor entirely altered in C19 with register grate and C19
chimneypiece to lower end, dado matchboarding to hall and inner room. Hall doorway
to through-passage has overlight with 3 stained glass panels. Dairy fittings
intact with lime ash floor. C18 2-panelled and C17 8-panelled door at head of
principal stairs and doorways to principal chambers over inner room have chamfered
and small scroll stopped durns and 8-panelled doors. C17 joinery to cupboards to
secondary stair landing. Principal roof structure of 3 phases. The earliest C17
section survives over hall and through-passage, unusually a coupled rafter roof
(q.v. Great Lilly Farmhouse, Goodleigh). 16 couples with lap-jointed collars and
ashlar pieces with 2 wall plates on each side separately supporting the rafter ends
and ashlar pieces. The entire roof, however, was never wholly of this construction
for over the hall/inner room dividing wall is a truss with straight heavy
principals, but with similar jointing method to the lap-jointed collar. This forms
a closed truss with a lath and plaster partition, the attic space above the inner
room forming part of servants sleeping quarters. 2 tiers of purlins threaded
through the partition and into this truss are carried to the gable end wall on a
replacement truss with straight principals over the centre of the inner room. Over
the lower end there are 3 probably C19 replacement trusses with side pegged
collars, but it appears there were always heavy principals at this end as the end
rafter over the hall formerly had purlins threaded into it which would have had to
be carried to the lower gable end wall. Lean-to privy has triple-seated wooden
lavatory fittings.

Listing NGR: SS5995326747

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26647834

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

• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)