Upcott Barton

Upcott Barton is a farmhouse with origins possibly dating to the 17th century or earlier, significantly altered in the 18th and 19th centuries. The exterior is colourwashed rendered cob on stone rubble footings, with a thatched roof featuring a plain ridge, half-hipped ends to the right, and a gabled end to the left. There are three distinct brick and stone stacks; one axial to the right of centre with a brick shaft, a rear lateral stack with a 19th or 20th-century brick shaft, and a left-end stone stack with set-offs, two bread ovens, and a brick shaft.

The building’s plan suggests a possible 17th-century 3-room and cross-passage arrangement, with a kitchen in the lower left end, a hall heated by the rear lateral stack, an inner room rebuilt and extended with a single-room plan addition to the right. It’s also possible the two rooms on the left predate the 17th century. A two-storey porch is positioned to the left of centre on the front, leading to a short passage and a second porch to the right of centre, which opens onto a straight staircase.

The front elevation is long and asymmetrical, featuring seven windows. The thatch eaves are notably eyebrowed over the first-floor windows to the right of the gabled two-storey porch. A single-storey gabled porch is located to the right of centre, with a 19th-century single-storey canted bay window to the right of that, and a separate doorway at the extreme right leading into the unheated right-end room. The front elevation exhibits several changes in plane between the two porches. Most windows are small-pane timber casements, although a probable 18th-century 4-light casement with square leaded panes is found on the first floor to the left. A small, single-storey thatched block adjoins the main range in the front left corner; this was originally said to have had a stack and may have been a detached bakehouse or washhouse, with a 19th-century brick front wall.

Inside, few early features are visible, although 17th-century carpentry and joinery are likely concealed behind later plasterwork. A chamfered scroll-stopped crossbeam is present in the room with the rear lateral stack, and a chamfered stopped crossbeam in the right-hand room. The roof space was inaccessible at the time of the 1986 survey, but the visible principal rafters appear straight. Upcott Barton is a handsome vernacular farmhouse, attractively situated and part of the Fursdon Estate.