Chilton

Chilton is a large house with late medieval origins, substantially remodelled in two phases during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, then reroofed and renovated in the 20th century. It is constructed of whitewashed rendered cob on stone rubble footings, with part of the rear wall rebuilt in stone. The roof is covered with asbestos slate and is gabled at both ends, having formerly been thatched. End stacks are present, with the right end stack projecting and featuring set-offs and a semi-circular bread oven. There is an axial stack to the left of centre, though all stacks now have modern brick shafts.

The house follows an L-shaped plan with a late medieval core. The main range comprises a three-room arrangement with a through passage. The hall has its stack backing onto the former passage, with a surprisingly small lower end room to the left. A smaller block with a lower roofline and first floor brick construction adjoins at the left end. The inner room, not inspected during survey, evidently dates to the 17th century or earlier and was used as a kitchen at some point. A small front service wing projects at right angles from the inner room. The house is reported to have smoke-blackened jointed cruck roof timbers, though the roof was not inspected at the time of survey and the extent of medieval timbers could not be established. A relieving arch above the hall fireplace extends above the timbers supporting the first floor, indicating that the chimney stack was inserted into the open hall before it was floored. The scale of the main range and the unusually short lower end suggest the possibility that the present building may be a truncated version of what was formerly a substantial courtyard arrangement.

The exterior presents two storeys with an asymmetrical front. The main door is positioned left of centre into the putative passage, with an opposed rear door. An additional doorway gives access into the right-hand room of the main range. Various casement windows are present, mostly of 20th-century date but including some earlier sliding sashes. The front wing features a probable 15th-century timber window with intersecting glazing bars, relocated from another house. The rear elevation includes a bee bole, and the rear right wall appears to be a 19th-century reconstruction in stone with brick dressings.

The interior of the hall is remarkably complete, featuring a large open fireplace with ashlar masonry and chamfered volcanic jambs, beneath a massive chamfered oak lintel and a relieving arch partly concealed by ceiling beams. The insertion of the hall stack involved removal of part of a late medieval plank and muntin screen at the higher end. The surviving screen has muntins chamfered on the passage side and a passage doorway with a cranked lintel. The first floor above the hall is supported on a massive chamfered cross beam with exposed joists. The inner room, which remains uninspected, is said to retain massive ceiling beams and an open fireplace. The interior of the wing was also not inspected but is reported to have formerly had an open gully for water and may have served as a buttery, likely dating to the 17th century or earlier.

Chilton was a Domesday Manor of substantial historical importance. Documentary evidence in the Devon Record Office refers to John Luteral, Knight and Lord of Chileton in 1340. The manor subsequently became known as Chylton Lutterell by 1564 when it was granted to John Prowse of Bollame, Clothyer. By 1636 it was described as Chilton Prowse.