Whelmstone Barton And Whelmstone Barton Cottage

Whelmstone Barton and Whelmstone Barton Cottage

A house and adjoining cottage near Colebrooke, with medieval origins that was rebuilt in the early 17th century, extended in the 18th century, and probably had its kitchen wing rebuilt in the 19th century. The main structure is mostly rendered cob on rubble footings. The porch is built of volcanic ashlar with granite coping, and the former kitchen wing consists of exposed volcanic stone rubble with brick dressings. Stone rubble chimney stacks have 19th and 20th century brick tops, while the former kitchen stack is entirely of brick. The roof is thatched, though corrugated iron has replaced thatch over the inner side of the former kitchen wing.

The main range faces south-east and contains two main rooms with an entrance lobby between them, plus a small third room at the south-west end. An end stack serves the right room and an outer axial stack serves the other main room. The building is two storeys throughout. A two-storey porch stands centrally. A kitchen wing extends at right angles to the rear of the right (north-east) room, and a crosswing projects forward slightly at the south-west end, extending further to the rear. The front portion now contains service rooms with an inner lateral stack; the rear serves as a garage and stores, formerly used as an agricultural store and hayloft. The former kitchen is now the separate Whelmstone Barton Cottage, with a two-room plan and an end stack.

The main front is not quite symmetrical, with four windows of 19th century 16-pane sashes. The ground floor windows are taller than those on the first floor. A central doorway contains a 19th century four-panel door set within a fine early 17th century gabled two-storey stone porch. This porch is of exceptional quality for Devon work. It has a chamfered plinth, a round-headed outer arch with an ogee-moulded surround featuring ornate scroll stops, a first floor two-light window with a hollow-chamfered mullion, broad bead-moulded reveals and a moulded hood, and a small blind rectangular niche above the window with a soffit-moulded sill, roll-moulded surround, and a projecting half-engaged ball finial above. The gable features soffit-chamfered granite coping on volcanic kneelers, with a ball finial at the apex. The porch is stylistically very similar to a nearby gateway.

The main roof is gable-ended to the right, while the crosswing to the left projects forward with a hipped roof. Its front end lies beyond a cob garden wall and contains two ground floor 20th century casements. The long south-west side's domestic section has a two-window front of 20th century casements with glazing bars, a 20th century panelled door, and first floor half dormers with thatched gables. The rear section has a more agricultural character, with 20th century glazed low ground floor windows flanking a flight of granite steps leading to a first floor loading hatch with double doors. A 19th century unglazed two-light window with three vertical iron bars to each light sits at the first floor level of the left end. The roof is hipped at each end. The end wall has ground floor garage doors flanked by full-height pilaster buttresses and a first floor unglazed two-light window.

Whelmstone Barton Cottage, the former kitchen wing, is built of rubble with brick dressings and has a partly corrugated iron roof. The end stack is entirely 19th century brick with a narrow lean-to end extension roofed in slate. Windows are mostly 20th century, though the outer (north-eastern) side includes 19th century three-light casements with glazing bars.

The interior of the main block displays wholly 17th century features, though plan irregularities suggest possible survival of an earlier core. An awkward lobby runs from the front door through the left main room to the entrance hall, now containing a 19th century stick baluster stair. Both main rooms have plain chamfered crossbeams. The right room features a volcanic ashlar fireplace with an oak lintel set in a moulded ogee surround with scroll stops. The roof comprises A-frame trusses with pegged lap-jointed collars and lower collars morticed, tenoned and pegged to the principals to carry the ceiling joists. The crosswing displays exposed 18th century features including plainly finished crossbeams and an A-frame roof. The interior of Whelmstone Barton Cottage was not inspected.

Whelmstone Barton bears the name of one of the 18 tithings of the Crediton Hundred recorded in 1340. The remains of a detached chapel licensed in 1374 were demolished around 1950.