Godford Farmhouse And House Adjoining At The South

Godford Farmhouse and House Adjoining at the South

This is a house divided into two dwellings, dating from the late 17th or early 18th century with later alterations. The south half was restored in the 1950s after a period of dereliction. The building is constructed of Flemish bond hand-made brick on a stone rubble plinth, with the south part rendered. It has a slate roof, hipped at the ends, and two axial brick stacks with a further axial stack to the rear left wing.

The house is built to a U-shaped plan. The main range is a single-depth structure facing east onto the road, probably originally three rooms wide. Two rear wings project at right angles: a left (south-west) wing and a right (north-west) wing. The late 17th or early 18th-century plan was altered when the house was divided, introducing various new partitions. Originally there were three principal rooms in the main range with a rear left service wing that included the kitchen. The unheated rear right wing's function is unclear, though it may have been a dairy. A notable feature is the presence of good quality moulded beams in both rear wings but not in the main range; these beams, which are incomplete, may have been reused from an earlier 17th-century house on the site. A probably 19th-century or later outshut between the wings now partly covers what was probably the original service yard. The house has been divided almost directly down the middle, cutting the centre rooms on both ground and first floors in half. The present entrance is in the north side of the rear right wing, leading into an entrance hall containing the stair, which is said to have been turned through 90 degrees.

Externally, the building is two storeys. The original symmetry of the east front has been slightly altered following renovations to the south end, though the original design remains clear. The front displays a seven-bay composition with left and right pilasters, with the centre three bays broken forward. The left half of the front is rendered, and the left-hand bay of the centre three has been modified. Windows are two-light casements of 20th-century date; those on the right have timber frames with glazing bars, while those on the left are 1950s metal windows with small panes. The north-west wing (Godford Farmhouse) has a 20th-century door to the left flanked by one-light windows with segmental arches; the brick lintels are machine-made and this doorway and windows may be a 19th-century alteration. A three-light segmental arched window to the right contains a probably 20th-century timber casement with glazing bars. Two first-floor three-light casements with small panes, possibly 18th century, are also present.

The interior preserves richly moulded beams in both rear wings, originally part of an intersecting beamed ceiling. These are presumably reused, perhaps reflecting the low status accorded to exposed carpentry when the house was built. Two chamfered beams also survive in Godford Farmhouse, one to the rear wing and one to the stair hall. Godford Farmhouse preserves a number of two-panel doors, probably early 18th century, on both ground and first floors. The fireplace of the centre room is in Godford Farmhouse, featuring a cambered chamfered timber lintel. The stair has an open string, turned balusters and a flat handrail, probably early 18th century; it now faces the entrance and is said to have been moved. The attic in Godford Farmhouse (and possibly throughout the range) was formerly floored and has a substantial stair rising to it, presumably for storage or service accommodation. The adjoining house contains a partly blocked fireplace with a chamfered lintel in the rear wing, possibly the original kitchen.

The roof comprises A-frame trusses halved at the apex, with collars nailed onto the principals. Three large man-made pits survive on the farmstead, which is notably short of natural stone; these may be brick pits. Early 18th-century or earlier brick houses are uncommon in Devon. Another probable late 17th-century example survives in Awliscombe parish at Losses Farmhouse. This building has group value with a brick stable to the north-east.