Sir Walter Raleigh Public House

EAST BUDLEIGH HIGH STREET (east side) East SY 0684 Budleigh 8/100 No. 22, Sir Walter Raleigh Public - House GV II Public house, former house. Early C16, rearranged and refurbished in late C18, converted to public house in C20. Plastered cob on stone rubble footings; stone rubble or brick stacks topped with C19 and C20 brick; thatch roof. 2-room plan house facing onto the street to the west. It has a central through passage which contains the stairs and end stacks. The left (northern/uphill) stack is a C20 insertion and it seems that there was a service through passage here formerly. C20 outshots to rear. Main block is 2 storeys. Irregular 4-window front of C19 and C20 replacment casements with glazing bars. There are 3 doorways; the main one right of centre, another inserted to the bar in the left room, and a third to the former left end passage. All contain C20 panelled doors. The roof butts the party wall of 24 High Street to the left and runs continuously with that of 20 High Street (q.v.) to right. Interior shows only C18 and later features except for the roof. It is 4 bays. The lower sections of the trusses are boxed into the first floor partitons but are probably jointed crucks. In the roofspace however the timbers can be seen and the roof is smoke-blackened from end to end indicating that the original house was divided by low partitions and heated by an open hearth fire. A hip arangement at the right (southern) end indicates that that end was always the end. The arrangement at the other end might suggest that the C16 house extended further northwards. The 2 trusses at that end were closed probably in the C16 and the infil is blackened on the inner faces. The space between these trusses appears too narrow for a hall or room of any kind. Maybe it is a smoke bay but if so that is very rare for Devon. Alternatively it may have been part of a hall reduced in size by a jettied or part-floored chamber. The later alterations make it impossible at present to interpret the layout of the C16 house but care should be taken during any modernization work since some of the crosswalls may contain C16 or C16 oak framing. On the ground floor each room has an axial beam but both are boxed in. The stairs are C19 and in the right room the fireplace contains a C20 grate. However alongside to the left is an C18 cupboard; its surround has fluted pilasters with moulded caps and there is a dentil cornice. The Sir Walter Raleigh public house is an intriguing building. Only the roofspace shows the real antiquity of the building. It is part of an attractive and varied group of buildings, most of them listed, which line the High Street as it rises towards the Church of All Saints. It was formerly known as the Kings Arms.

Listing NGR: SY0663484832