Jasmine Cottage and Attached Front Wall, Railings and Gate, Charlton Adam, Somerset

Description

CHARLTON MACKRELL

508/0/10010 BROAD STREET
30-APR-04 Charlton Adam
Jasmine Cottage and attached front wal
l, railings and gate.

II
House. Circa early C16 or earlier; altered late C18/early-mid C19; main range truncated probably later in the C19; renovated and extended late C20/early C21. Walls are coursed and squared blue lias, lime pointed. Two rendered brick gable-end chimney stacks. Clay double-roman tile gable-ended roofs.
PLAN: L-plan with through-passage at far right-hand end, hall and unheated inner room to its left, with 1-room heated wing behind inner room. Lower end, to right of passage, believed to have been truncated by construction of later C19 chapel and school room which now abuts the end of the house. The hall fireplace backs onto the passage and appears contemporary with the framed ceiling in that room. The rear wing appears to have functioned as a parlour with a gable end fireplace. In the angle of the wing is a slight projection of uncertain function, but which may have contained a staircase. Some time btween the late C18 and mid C19 the front range was heightened to match the rear wing. In the later C19 the lower end of the house was truncated, leaving the through-passage only single storey. Comprehensive and sympathetic renovation of the house was undertaken between 1993 and 2004, including a 2-storey rear extension in the angle between the front range and rear wing, which now houses the staircase.
EXTERIOR: 2 storeys with small single-storey section at right-hand end for through-passage, which has a very shallow pitched roof. All windows were renewed during the recent renovation works, generally to an historic precedent. Regular 2-window front with late C20 door of wide elm planks to far right. Windows are 2-light small-paned timber casements apart from ground floor left-hand one which has rectangular leaded lights. Oak lintels to ground floor openings. Left gable end has a central window on each floor, both late C20 2-light with leaded lights, the lower one is a recent opening. The outline of the original gable is still discernible in the stonework. Wing extends behind left-hand end of house with no visible break in the stonework. On each floor is one 2-light small-paned timber casement window. Against the rear gable of the wing is a stone lean-to with a 3-light small-paned casement window to the left and plank door to the right. On the inner face of the wing on the first floor is a re-used late C19 3-light casement window. To the left of the wing at the rear and set back from it is the 2-storey gabled extension constructed in 2003 with a small lean-to to its left with a part-glazed door.
INTERIOR: Passage has blue lias stone flagged floor and exposed plain joists to ceiling, extensively replaced in the late C20. At rear of passage is a low chamfered 2-centred timber arched door frame, considerably weathered on its rear face. In the left-hand passage wall towards the rear is chamfered 4-centred arch timber door frame leading to hall. Hall has 4-panel framed ceiling of substantial deep-chamfered beams. Exposed closely-spaced, square-section joists. Slight traces of painted decoration on beam above window. Large open fireplace with chamfered blue lias jambs and heavy timber lintel whose soffit has been hacked off but retains evidence of mason's mitres to fit jambs. Above the lintel is a projecting timber cornice with unusual carved crenellated ornament. At the higher end of the hall is a plank-an-muntin screen, the muntins of which are chamfered with run-outs at the top and high diagonal stops at their bases. Lias flagstone floor. Inner room has two substantial cross-beams with deep chamfers and step stops. Exposed reverse side of screens both to hall and wing are undercoated and more crudely finished, indicating a lower status room. Wing has plank-and-muntin screen with mason's mitres to head of muntins. Two chamfered cross-beams with hollow step stops, with C19 plastered ceiling in between. Fireplace is considerably smaller than one in hall, with chamfered blue lias jambs with pyramid stops and timber chamfered lintel with mason's mitres to jambs. Lias flagstone to floors. On first floor the early roof truss is exposed in the partition between the two front rooms at a significantly lower level to the existing roof-line. It consists of straight principal rafters with evidence for two sets of trenched purlins and a morticed collar. Between the main range and the wing is a closed truss with the remains of original wattle-and-daub in its upper section. The lower part has been reconstructed as an oak-framed partition on the evidence of the head beam of the screen below which was grooved along its top edge, with mortices for posts. In the rear wing is a similar open truss with a cambered, morticed collar and one set of trenched purlins. Walls are lime plastered throughout except on modern partitions. Attached to and in front of the house runs a low blue lias wall surmounted by simple traditional railings with horizontal rails and uprights and with a similar gate.
Despite its modest size this house contains a remarkable range of C16 internal features of a quality indicating a higher status than its external appearance suggests.

External Links

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