Passaford Farmhouse

Passaford Farmhouse is a late 16th to early 17th century farmhouse, possibly with an earlier core, situated near Otterton. The house was refurbished in the late 19th century, probably around 1886, the same date as nearby farm buildings at the adjoining court.

The main structure comprises plastered cob on stone rubble footings, with stone rubble or cob stacks topped with 19th century brick and a thatched roof. A 19th century brick and weather-boarded outshot with tile roof extends from the right (eastern) end. The house is two storeys tall and faces south.

The plan is unusual: a three-room-and-through-passage arrangement with the service end room actually serving as a parlour on the left (western) end, rather than in the typical late medieval position. This parlour and passage show no features earlier than the 19th century and are separated from the hall by a thick cob crosswall. The inner room at the far end is deeper than the rest of the house and functions as a kitchen. A two-storey outshot projects to the rear, extending behind the hall, which includes a winder stair turret and was probably a dairy. The room above the putative dairy was converted to a bathroom in the late 19th century. The lower end and inner rooms have gable end stacks, with the latter projecting. The hall contains an axial stack backing onto the passage. A further outshot was added to the right end in the late 19th century.

The front elevation is irregular with five windows of late 19th century casements with glazing bars, and a contemporary four-panel door positioned left of centre before the through passage. The roof is gable-ended; until circa 1970, the rear roof was carried down over a pentice to the rear of the hall.

Interior features of early date are consistently late 16th to early 17th century. The hall contains a distinctive 16-panel intersecting beam ceiling with relatively narrow beams featuring very deep chamfers more characteristic of contemporary Somerset work than Devon. Some beams retain traces of ancient colour in enriched chevron patterns of orange and yellow. One beam soffit directly in front of the stair turret has been cut into, with adjoining joists interfered with, suggesting a former stair location. Along the crosswall at the upper end of the hall stands a length of 17th century oak small-field panelled wainscotting containing a frieze of chip-carved lunettes, set well off the floor as if providing a back for an upper end bench. The fireplace at the stack is blocked by a 20th century grate, though part of the oak lintel remains exposed. On the first floor, the massive chimney breast appears to be built of cob.

The inner room kitchen has a soffit-chamfered and step-stopped crossbeam, finished similarly to the oak lintel of its fireplace. The fireplace has been lined with 19th century brick and retains a contemporary rear oven with a cast iron door bearing the name of the local founder, Gosling of Otterton. A heavy oak bench is fixed to the hall crosswall in this room, possibly the one removed from the other side. Windows throughout the house appear to occupy original embrasures, with signs of a blocked window to the rear of the hall. Some first-floor windows have solid walnut window seats. Most joinery detail is 19th century.

The roof over the inner room spans two bays and, though the truss is plastered over, is apparently a jointed cruck. The lean-to roof over the dairy outshot behind may have been raised in the 19th century. No truss is visible over the remainder of the house, and the roofspace is inaccessible.

Passaford is an attractive and interesting farmhouse with an unusual and intriguing plan form. It gains additional interest from its proximity to Pavers, another important early farmhouse standing on the opposite side of the lane.