Thelbridge Hall

Thelbridge Hall is a large farmhouse, formerly a rectory, with a probable late medieval core. It underwent significant refurbishment in the early 17th century, and further substantial alterations and extensions occurred in 1852 for Reverend R T Bradstock. The house is constructed of plastered rubble and cob, with rubble stacks topped with 19th-century brick, and a slate roof dating from 1852.

The house comprises two parallel ranges facing southwest. The longer, four-room-and-cross-passage front range appears to be adapted from a 16th or 17th century three-room-and-through-passage house, with a former service end room (now a parlour) at the right (southeast) end. A 19th-century rear block accommodates the kitchen and service areas. The front range has a projecting end stack to the left room, and a front lateral stack to the room to the left of centre. There are possibly disused rear lateral stacks to other front rooms, and two rear lateral stacks to the rear block. The house is two storeys high, with a regular six-window front. It incorporates round-headed fixed pane windows without glazing bars at the right end, and the remainder are 12-pane sashes, some dating from the mid-19th century, and others later replacements with horns. An early 17th-century passage door, positioned right of centre, is a sturdy oak plank door with an applied 15-panel front, ledges to the rear, two large bolts, hinges, and a catch, set within an oak doorframe with an ogee-moulded surround and scroll stops. A probably 19th-century gabled and slate-roofed plastered rubble porch, with a segmental outer arch, fronts the entrance. The roof is gable-ended. The right (southeast) end has a double-gabled elevation with 16-pane sashes to each floor at the front (left) and a large tripartite sash window to the right. The rear elevation has an irregular arrangement of 12-pane sashes.

The interior largely reflects the 1852 refurbishment. A staircase from 1852 is located in the wide passage. Only the former hall displays pre-1852 features; a ceiling with three bays now has 17th-century crossbeams with double-ovolo mouldings and elaborate keeled-lozenge stops. Other 17th-century features may be concealed by 19th-century plaster within the front block. Both blocks have 1852 roofs. A slate flagstone in the rear block is inscribed “WYD 1852”. According to owner’s researches, Thelbridge Hall was a Domesday manor belonging to the Bishop of Coutances. It is described as a rectory in terriers of 1679 and 1727. Extensions and refurbishment in 1852 were undertaken for Reverend Rowland Thomas Bradstock; the builder was John Mardon Baker of South Molton, and original plans and elevations are deposited in the Devon Record Office. The Hall served as a rectory until approximately 1930.