Maddock'S Farmhouse

Maddock’s Farmhouse is a detached house, originally a farmhouse, dating to the early 16th century, with later alterations and additions. The external walls are roughcast cob on a stone plinth, and the roof is covered in asphalted slate, with a hip to the right-hand end and a gable end to the left.

The original layout was a three-room, through-passage plan, with the higher end situated to the right of the passage. The hall and service end were initially open to the roof, displaying smoke-blackened timbers of a jointed cruck construction. The inner room was originally unheated, likely remaining as a two-storey space. A wing was probably added to the rear of the service end, potentially in the late 16th century when the hall received its first floor; both areas have ceiling beams with scroll stops.

Heating is provided by an inserted axial stack in the hall, backing onto the passage, an external end stack with a winder stair adjacent to the service end, and an internal lateral stack in the wing, although the shaft of this has been dismantled. The brick shafts of the stacks are largely of the 19th century, with the hall stack being completely rebuilt.

The front elevation has a four-window range. The first floor features 2 and 3-light casement windows, while the ground floor has three 20th-century 3-light casement windows. There is a lean-to to the right-hand end, with a 20th-century window, and a single-storey extension to the left. A small square window, providing light to the winder stair, is set into the left-hand end wall. The rear includes two first-floor casement windows of differing sizes, set beneath eaves-level lintels, four 20th-century windows and a door on the ground floor, with the rear passage door now blocked. A lean-to and 20th-century casement windows are also present on the wing.

Inside, the service end features one and a half cross ceiling beams, chamfered with step stops, and a fireplace with a chamfered wooden lintel, now concealed by an ovolo-moulded lintel recovered from the demolished Hackworthy Farmhouse. Remains of a plank and muntin screen survive between the service end and through-passage, the muntins being chamfered and pegged. The hall contains a chamfered axial beam with scroll stops. The wing fireplace has been significantly remodelled but retains a chamfered lintel with run-out stops. Adjacent to the fireplace is a seat with a possible housing for a sliding rail, possibly for child protection. The roof structure consists of three jointed crucks, with a fourth at the lower end having been replaced. The cruck roof is divided into two bays in the service end and passage, and one bay in the hall. The principal truss between the hall and inner room is yoked and closed, smoke-blackened on the hall side, and features a diagonal ridge piece throughout, with collars removed.