Forde Grange, The Barn With Attached Farmbuildings To North

Forde Grange is a barn dating from the early 16th century, located on Wheelhouse Lane in Thorncombe. The barn features rubble walls with stone quoins, dressings, and buttresses, topped by a slate roof with stone coping on the west gable. The roof has a small pyramidal apex and the interior is open to the roof. It consists of seven bays between the buttresses, which include five with loopholes. On the north side, there are porches with buttresses and pitched gables. A dovecote has been inserted into the east gable wall, featuring square pigeon-holes, likely from the 18th century. Inside, the barn has raised full and jointed crucks with chamfered tie-beams and arch-braced collars, along with three sets of through purlins. The porch bay contains raised jointed crucks and wind-braces, and the walls thicken at six feet high to support the raised crucks. The loopholes are splayed on the inside. There is an attached cart-shed to the northwest, dating from the early 19th century, with rubble walls and brick dressings, as well as an attached cow-house from the late 19th century.