Coxe'S Dairy Or Farmhouse

Coxe’s Dairy or Farmhouse comprises two dwellings, originally a single farmhouse. It dates from the early 17th century, with alterations in the 18th and 19th centuries, and some 20th-century additions. The exterior is rough cast cob with some Heavitree stone, and it is topped by a hipped thatched roof. The building follows a variant of the 3-room, cross-passage plan, featuring a central unheated service room to the left of the passage, and a heated parlour and hall to the left and right-hand ends respectively. A newel stair is located in a rear turret, facing a truncated front lateral external stack that heats the parlour; the hall was probably originally heated by an end stack, but the current end stack is part of a 19th-century rebuilding of the end wall. The two storeys are evident on the front elevation, which has a 5-window range; the first floor features 2-light casement windows dating to the 19th century. Ground floor leantos are clad in 20th-century pantiles. The rear elevation has an irregular fenestration pattern, including two single-light 19th-century windows to the first floor, and four 19th-century windows to the ground floor, set under depressed arches. The stair turret is large and unlit. Internally, the hall features a ceiling beam with scroll stops, and a half beam with damaged stops. The parlour has an axial ceiling beam with a roll stop. A solid cob partition separates the passage from the service room. The newel stairs have been replaced, likely in the 19th century. A jointed cruck is above the hall. The house remains largely as described in N W Alcock’s ‘Houses in an East Devon Parish’, published in 1962.