Fullamoor Farmhouse, Clifton Hampden, Oxfordshire

Summary

House, probably originating in the C17, with a major enlargement in 1769, a Victorian extension, and subsequent additions.

Description

House, probably originating in the C17, with a major enlargement in 1769, a Victorian extension, and subsequent additions.

MATERIALS: constructed from red brick laid in Flemish bond, with some elevations including blue brick headers. A section is built in rubble stone in the earlier part of the building, and one elevation of the Victorian addition is built in grey brick. Roofs are covered in clay tiles and there are brick chimneystacks.

PLAN: the building has two main ranges forming an L-shaped plan, and various outshuts and additions have been built on the north and east sides. The first phase of the building appears to be that which is orientated north/south, and which meets the east/west range at the south-east corner; there is a Victorian addition at the junction of the two. There are various single-storey outshuts on the east elevation of the north/south range, and double-height additions on the north elevation of the east/west range.

EXTERIOR: the north/south range is single storey with a tall attic, with a pitched roof and central chimneystack. The west elevation has two windows to the ground floor; they are wide with segmental-arched heads, and form the stylistic basis for those found elsewhere on the building. All windows are modern replacements, replicating the earlier glazing pattern. There is brick storey band, and two dormers – that to the right being much larger – to the attic. The north gable end is constructed from rubble stone at ground-floor level with brick above, indicating where it was once enclosed by ancillary agricultural buildings, as shown on the 1786 map. An external brick stack (not original) has been removed from the gable end, leaving scars in the brickwork and exposing bricks inscribed ‘EC 1769’ and ‘EL 1769’. The east elevation of this range has been built upon in various phases; two lean-to outshuts have been linked together as part of the C21 reconfiguration.

The south elevation of the east/west range is a polite composition: it is of two storeys with an attic, symmetrical, with a central doorway with wide, segmental-arched windows to either side on both floors, and a narrower pair of casements above the door. There is projecting brick storey band, as on the northern range. There are two pitched dormers to the attic. The doorcase and door are modern. The northern elevation of this range is dominated by two gabled extensions, heavily altered; that on the right has a modern double-height oriel window lighting the stair. To the right of this is the original elevation of the east/west range, which has a wide, segmental-arched window to each floor, as per the south elevation.

At the south-east corner is the Victorian extension. On the south elevation it is visible only at first-floor level, owing to the addition of the conservatory (excluded from the listing); it is built in grey brick and has a large pitched dormer, with a wide window with a hood moulding. The east gable end is in red brick; it is blind and has an external stack.

INTERIOR: on the ground floor of the earlier range there is some evidence of a timber frame, which has been replaced by, or encased in, the brick elevations. In the study, the floor-frame to the attic is exposed: there is a deep spine beam supporting roughly-hewn joists. A timber at the south-west corner of the room suggests there may have been a ladder hatch to the attic, and hence the stair, which rises between the two ground-floor rooms, may be a later insertion. The drawing room, to the south of the stair, was the only room to be heated in this part of the building; the chimneybreast remains, and has a reproduction chimneypiece. The spine beam is exposed in this room, though the rest of the floor frame has been boarded over. Upstairs, parts of two curved principal roof trusses are exposed, as is the wall plate and purlins.

The east/west range has been reconfigured from its original plan of two rooms with a central stair. On the ground floor, the stair hall and eastern room have been opened up to create a large kitchen, with the stair repositioned in the hall to the north. In the sitting room, to the west, the floor frame is exposed, and is made up of roughly-hewn timbers, previously plastered over. There is a cellar, reached by well-worn brick steps, beneath this room. On the first floor, originally two rooms, the fireplaces have been removed, and a bathroom has been inserted into the former stair hall. In the attic the queen post trusses are exposed, and have been adapted and infilled to form two attic rooms accessed by a central stair. The easternmost of these rooms has tightly curving studs beneath the deep purlins.

History

Fullamoor Farmhouse is a multi-phase building, originating, probably, in the C17. The Victoria County History states that the farmhouse dates from the late C18, however, the building fabric suggests earlier origins: the north/south range of the farmhouse appears to have originally been a two-cell, timber-framed building, and there is evidence of a ladder hatch to the attic, suggesting that the central stair may be a later insertion. This range was encased in brick in 1769, evidenced by two date inscriptions. Similarity in the style and form of brickwork suggests that the east/west range is contemporary with the 1769 encasement of the north/south range; this is supported by the 1786 estate map, which clearly shows these two main ranges.

The estate map shows ancillary agricultural buildings adjoining the north/south range of the house, and there were further agricultural buildings to the north-west. On the 1830 1” Ordnance Survey, Fullamoor is named Clifton Farm. The late-C19 and early-C20 Ordnance Survey maps show the development of the farmstead; by the time of the 1972 map all of the C18 farm buildings have been removed, leaving only the farmhouse, which remained in use as the principal farm residence until the 1990s. There is a heavily-altered range to the north-west of the farmhouse, possibly once a cartshed, which was present by maps of the late C19, and the garden walls to the south also appear to date from this period. Sections of the walls have been rebuilt, and openings have been inserted, though the general layout survives. There is a small, square-plan, late-C19 structure with a pyramidal roof built into the north-east corner.

The grey-brick-faced south-eastern extension is first shown on the 1878 map; a large modern conservatory (excluded from the listing) has been built on the south elevation. The main porch, and the outshuts on the west elevation were present by 1878, though have been heavily altered. An undated aerial photograph, probably mid-C20, shows a pitched porch on the southern elevation of the east/west range; on a photograph taken in 1980, this had been removed. There has been internal reordering to the east/west range, including the removal and repositioning of the stair and reconfiguration of the first floor.

Reasons for Listing

Fullamoor Farmhouse, an C18 house with earlier origins, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* A multi-phase building that retains a significant proportion of fabric from its principal stages of development, which pre-date 1840;
* The north/south range retains timber framing, and so has the potential to provide evidence of the date and the vernacular tradition for this type of construction;
* The early plan forms remain legible and clearly illustrate the development of the building, reflecting the changing modes of use of domestic buildings from the C17 onwards.

Historic interest:

* The high-quality construction of the east/west range may reflect the prosperity of the farm during the mid to late C18, and so has the potential to contribute to our understanding of the historic agricultural economy of the region.

External Links

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.