Knowle Farmhouse

Farmhouse. Built in the early to mid-16th century, with substantial later 16th and 17th century modifications, and refurbished in the late 19th century. The walls are plastered cob on stone rubble footings, with stone rubble stacks topped with 19th and 20th century brick, and a slate roof, formerly thatched. Originally a 4-room-and-through-passage plan house facing south-east, it originally consisted of an inner room parlour with a gable-end stack at the north-east end, and to its south the hall with an axial stack backing onto the passage. A lower end kitchen has a projecting rear lateral stack, while a smaller room at the left end, with a later 19th century end stack, was likely a dairy or buttery. Due to inaccessibility, the early structural history of the roof is unknown, though smoke-blackened timbers suggest the house was potentially built in the early 16th century with the hall originally open to the roof and heated by a hearth. Many original features are hidden behind 19th and 20th century plaster. It is two storeys high with rear lean-to outshots added in the 19th century. The exterior has an irregular 4-window front with 19th and 20th century casement windows with glazing bars. The passage front doorway, slightly left of centre, has a late 19th century part-glazed 6-panel door behind a 20th century gabled rustic porch. A second doorway at the left end has a 20th century door. The roof is gable-ended. The interior is largely the result of the late 19th century modernisation, which appears superficial. All fireplaces are blocked by 19th and 20th century grates. The three main rooms have exposed crossbeams – the beam in the inner room parlour is chamfered with straight cut stops, while the others are chamfered with scroll stops. The partition between the hall and inner room is plastered, but believed to be an oak plank-and-muntin screen. Plastered jointed cruck trusses are visible on the first floor. Care should be taken during any future alterations to avoid disturbing potentially significant 16th or 17th century features.