Moorstone Barton

Moorstone Barton is a Grade I farmhouse of exceptional historical and architectural importance. The main range dates from the mid-14th century, probably built by Walter Ganson, with 15th-century cross-wings added later; the northern wing has been demolished.

The building is constructed of cob on stone footings, plastered throughout, with gabled-end wheatreed thatched roofs. It is two storeys high. The earlier main range follows the traditional three-room, through-passage plan with the higher end positioned to the left of the passage. The interior is heavily smoke-blackened, reflecting its medieval heating arrangements. The 15th-century higher end or solar wing was built with two storeys from the start and was heated by a stone external lateral stack, later fitted with a small brick shaft.

The front elevation displays a three-window range. The first floor contains three-light casement windows with leaded panes (12 or 15 per light), with the two to the left set under eyebrow eaves. The lower end first-floor window sits at a noticeably lower level than the others. The ground floor has a six-light casement window to the Hall with 10 leaded panes per light, and a three-light casement window to the right of the passage with 12 leaded panes per light. The inner face of the solar wing features one large three-light window to each floor, all with leaded lights. The front of the wing contains blocked windows (described in interior section below). The left-hand elevation has two old three-light windows with chamfered jambs and mullions, displaying 12 leaded panes to the outer light; other windows appear to be 20th-century additions. The rear of the main range has two first-floor windows (one of two lights with 8 leaded panes per light) and one ground-floor opening to the left of the passage. The solar wing was extended to the rear in the 19th century with three-light windows beneath a slate gabled-end roof. Rear yard buildings are also 19th century, constructed of rubble with brick dressing.

The interior contains a single chamfered doorway arch, probably not in its original position. The solar wing preserves two blocked two-light windows on each floor at the front end, with wide lights featuring cinquefoil heads similar in character to late 15th-century east Devon church window tracery. A medieval window of earlier date—probably 14th-century—was discovered in the roof space by J.R.L. Thorp: a trefoil-headed lancet fashioned from a single block of wood, its original location unknown.

The building's greatest significance lies in its medieval roof structure. The main range comprises four bays, all heavily sooted. The two central bays span the Hall. The trusses employ base-jointed arches with chamfered arched braces, threaded purlins, cranked tie beams with angle struts, squared wall plates, and a crown post with diagonal curved struts. The collar is straight with a collar purlin. The apex is morticed and pegged with no ridge piece. The arched braces resting on the Hall are supported on carved head corbels. One of two former central bosses survives, decorated with vine leaves and grapes. The trusses are closed above the tie beam at either end of the hall; a smoke-window has been inserted through one of them. The spere between the Hall and service-end differs in its bracing, which takes the form of a steeply profiled arch. The service-end exhibits less sooting than the other three bays. The solar wing roof comprises four jointed arches, morticed and pegged at the apex, with cranked collars, paired threaded purlins, and a complete set of coeval rafters, all in clean condition.

According to Dr Alcock, the roof of the main range is mid-14th century, possibly as early as the 1340s, bearing stylistic affinities with the court style of that decade. The Ganson family maintained connections with the royal court: William Ganson served as a yeoman of the chamber of Edward III and held various western country posts derived from his position in court circles. By the turn of the 15th century, the Gansons had become a prominent local gentry family, holding important positions and forming marriage alliances with other leading families such as the Walronds of Bradfield. John Walrond was married to a daughter of John Ganson in the private chapel of Moorstone in 1449 (Devon & Cornwall Record Society, new series, Register of Edmund Lacy, Vol. III, pp. 34, 112). It was possibly this John Walrond, or his son of the same name, who constructed the solar wing.