67 and 69 Church Road

67 and 69 Church Road

Two houses, formerly a single farmhouse possibly dating to the 16th century and improved in the 17th century with later alterations, and an attached 17th-century barn or shippon converted to residential use in the mid-20th century.

The buildings are constructed of Plymouth limestone rubble, painted, with some slate hanging above the ground-floor windows at number 69. The roofs are slate. Doors and windows are timber.

The plan is rectangular and single-depth, facing west, with a square staircase wing and later small extensions to the east of number 69. The entrance to number 69 is positioned opposite the staircase wing, possibly indicating an earlier two-cell cross-passage house arrangement.

The former barn or shippon, now number 67, stands to the north of the former farmhouse at number 69. The building is two storeys under a steep roof with axial and south-facing internal gable stacks, and five window bays on the principal west elevation. The entrance to number 69 is centrally placed on its elevation, beneath a 20th-century porch with symmetrically arranged windows on the ground and first floors and a further window to the left. The rear elevation shows four phases of 19th and later small extensions surrounding a 17th-century square two-storey staircase wing with a pitched roof. The south elevation has a single first-floor window to the left.

Number 67 retains remnants of earlier stonework at ground-floor level but appears to have been largely rebuilt in the mid-20th century with inserted windows and doors. The roof has been raised and the eaves brought forward on the west elevation to straighten the roof line over both properties. At ground-floor level on the rear elevation are two openings under rubblestone arches: the left opening has a 20th-century door, and the adjacent 20th-century casement window sits in a former door opening, probably the former stable. All windows are 20th-century timber casements with slate cills unless otherwise noted. External doors to number 67 are planked with 20th-century decorative hinges.

Interior of number 69: the ground floor has chamfered cross-beams spanning east to west, with more substantial examples in the central bay. A slot in the beam to the south of the entrance, aligned with the staircase to the east, may be evidence of a screens passage. Windows are 20th-century timber casements, but their reveals are deep with some timber lintels. The same applies to the principal entrance door on the west wall. The northern room contains an inglenook fireplace on the east wall; the southern room has a fireplace in the south-east corner; both have replacement oak lintels. Adjacent to the southern fireplace is a small recess with a timber door, possibly for salt storage. An opening in the east wall leads to 19th and later extensions, recently used as kitchen and utility rooms. To the north of this opening is the 17th-century stone newel staircase with various blocked openings, a small window, and an alcove within it. On the first floor, the north room has a small fireplace on the north wall and early-19th-century plain timber partitions with planked doors survive. The south room has a fireplace in the south-east corner with an oak lintel bearing ogee stops. To the left of the fireplace on the east wall is a frame of a three-light timber window with chamfered mullions, probably 17th-century in date and now blocked. The roof trusses are adzed and pegged but supplemented by numerous reinforcements, replacements and repairs. The same applies to the rafters and purlins.

The interior of number 67 was converted to domestic use in the mid-20th century and retains few earlier features of note. The floor plan and all fittings are modern, although evidence of the historic wall plate survives in the first-floor corridor and bedrooms.