Stable Block Adjoining Tithe Barn To North-North-West

SOWTO BISHOP'S COURT LANE SX 99 SE 1/41 Stable block adjoining tithe - barn to north-north-west

• I

Former stable block, now serving as storage area. Early C16. Heavitree stone, ashlared; gabled-end pantiled roof. Volcanic trap to door and window frames. Rectangular plan, 120' x 20', west side (facing the courtyard occupied to the south by the Tithe Barn, q.v.) with 4 pointed arched doorways, 3 of them probably C19, the other, opposing one to the east, chamfered with pyramid stops. Later (ie. mid C19) square-headed one and 2-light windows with stone surrounds. The other long elevation now forms one wall of an extensive late-C20 paint storehouse; 4 doorways, all with 2-centred arches, with 4 C16 square-headed windows towards the south end. At the north end is a C16 moulded stone louvre and finial on the apex of the gable wall. Interior: 3 ceiling beams to the south incorporated into a reflooring in the C19, the carpentry suggesting William White's work. North end with a first floor Heavitree stone fireplace with segmental arched lintel. Early-C16 arched brace roof, deeply chamfered, with 4 purlins. Stalls: a complete set; they are not the original, but look early, with square- section newels with moulded caps, chamfered and stopped, planked internal partitions with iron struts above, twisted in the centre. The stable-block is discussed by Dr Alcock, and it appears to be a fairly rare survival, with evidence of grooms' quarters at the north end, heated by an end louvre. N W Alcock, 'The Medieval Buildings of Bishop's Clyst', Trans. Devon Assoc.98 (1966).

Listing NGR: SX9815091812