Barns Approximately 3 Metres North Of Pencepool Farmhouse

PLYMTREE PLYMTREE ST 00 SE 3/155 Barns approximately 3 metres north of Pencepool Farmhouse 6.10.87 GV II

Double barn. C16, C17 and C18. The walls are of various materials, the oldest section is of dressed blocks of hard local sandstone laid to courses and with larger quoins, the rest is cob on stone rubble footings patched with brick and C20 concrete blocks; roof of corrugated iron and corrugated asbestos, formerly thatch. Plan: long building, now 2 blocks, built along the road and facing onto it to north-west. The longer block to left (north-east) is 2 barns built end to end. Each has opposing central doorways onto the threshing floors. To right is a smaller block with hayloft. The 2 blocks are separated by a carriageway into the farmyard behind. This was until recently roofed over. The right barn is the oldest, probably C16. The carriageway and right end block might be contemporary; if not they are late C16 - early C17. The left end barn is probably late C17 or early C18 but its roof was replaced in the C20. This barn was used as a cider house in the C19 and C20. Exterior: the left end barn is exposed cob on stone rubble footings but the centre section of the front, which includes large double doors, is rebuilt with late C19 - early C20 brick. The right barn is coursed masonry and its full height central doorway is flanked by short projecting midstrey walls. The double doors are C19. The block at the right end is plastered cob on stone rubble footings patched with C19 brick. It contains a small ground floor window and larger first floor window, the latter probably adapted from a hayloft loading hatch. The roofs are gable- ended. Interior: the left end barn is open to the roof, the structure of which was replaced in the C20. This barn contains a C19 cider press. The right barn is also open to the 2-bay roof. The central truss is a jointed cruck held together by a pair of pegged slip tenons. Stylistically this is supposed to be an early form. Here it is thought to be C16 but could be earlier. There is a solid wall between the 2 barns but not either side of the carriageway. It is open and flanked by side- pegged jointed cruck trusses. Another 2 similar trusses carry the roof over the right block wnich is also open ended. The barn side of the carriageway is lined with a reused oak plank-and-muntin screen containing a crank-headed doorway but it has been erected here upside down. These farmbuildings form part of an attractive group both immediately with nearby Pencepool Farmhouse (q.v) and its front garden wall (q.v) and generally with other traditional Devon houses that make up the village of Plymtree. Moreover the right Darn and right end block are early example of farmbuildings for Devon.

Listing NGR: ST0526103162