Including Outbuildings Adjoining Number 17 At Rear

This is a two-house property, originally dating to the early 17th century or earlier, likely a farmhouse, later used as a coaching house. It was remodelled as two separate houses in the early 18th century and refronted in the early 19th century. The construction is stuccoed cob with a slate roof. The building plan initially comprised three rooms and a through passage, with the higher-quality end positioned on the left (east) side of No. 16. A rear wing, positioned at right angles to No. 16, fronts onto Martin’s Lane, providing a carriageway leading to a yard at the rear.

The south front has an asymmetrical 3:2 window arrangement with regular sash windows. No. 16 features an early 19th century front door with an ornate doorcase featuring pilasters with incised fretwork, a flat porch hood with a moulded cornice, and a recessed panelled front door. To the right of the front door, a tripartite sash window with 12 panes in the centre and 4 panes in the outer lights is present on both the ground and first floors. The left return of No. 16 has a probable late 18th century 16-pane sash with a moulded architrave above a wide carriageway, which has boarded spandrels and a pair of 19th century boarded doors with a wicket in one of them.

The south front of No. 17 is approximately symmetrical with a recessed 6-panel door, a moulded doorcase with panelled reveals, shallow consoles, a rectangular panel over the lintel and a moulded cornice. Windows to the left have early 19th century 16-pane sashes, set within the bay of the former through passage, while the right-hand windows are tripartite sashes matching those on No. 16.

A long, impressively sized rear wing formerly served as stables, featuring stable doors and loft windows. A cob wall beyond contains blocked ventilation slits, originally belonging to a demolished rope-making shop. The rope-making shop had a timber structure above the cob wall with gable end louvres and fittings for rope-twisting.

The interior of No. 16, which was only partially inspected, is likely to contain concealed or earlier features. No. 17 retains the original through passage on the left of the present front door, leading to a passage entrance. A staircase from the rear has a flat moulded handrail, with a blocked round-headed stair window. Several early 18th century two-panel doors with HL hinges and moulded doorcases remain. The front right room on the first floor retains an early 18th century timber chimney-piece with an eared architrave. The roof, apex not inspected, displays principal rafters in the first floor rooms of No. 17, suggesting an A-frame structure. The building is significant as one of the earliest surviving in Crediton, which was largely destroyed by fire in 1743. It is notable for its good early 19th century front and its unconverted outbuildings.