Court Hall Farmhouse

Court Hall Farmhouse

A farmhouse and former court hall, dated 1659, possibly built over an earlier core and refurbished in the late 18th century with some mid-19th century modernisation. The building is constructed of plastered stone rubble with some Hamstone detail. The chimneys are of stone rubble with plastered shafts of 19th century brick. The roof is slate, though it was probably originally thatched.

The house follows an F-plan, with the main block facing south-east. It is organised as a 4-room-and-through-passage plan. At the south-west end, the inner room (parlour or drawing room) has a gable-end stack. The hall or dining room features a large axial stack backing onto the wide passage. Below the passage sits the kitchen, which also has a large axial stack backing onto the small right-end room. The right end has a gable-end stack serving the first floor chamber. A 2-storey front porch projects forward, and a 2-room service wing projects at right angles to the rear of the right end. The rear room of this service wing (a bakehouse) has a projecting gable-end stack, with a service stair turret set in the angle between the main and rear blocks. The main stairblock projects to the rear at the upper end of the hall. A late 18th century 1-room rear block, projecting at right angles alongside the stairblock and blocking the rear of the passage, features a rear diagonal corner stack. Apart from this addition, the whole house appears to date from 1659. While it is tempting to suggest that the main block derives from an earlier open hall house, there is no physical evidence to support this. The house rises 2 storeys with attics in the roof space.

Exterior: The front is not quite symmetrical with a 2:1:2-window arrangement. The 2-window sections either side of the porch contain mid-19th century tripartite sashes. The two ground floor windows left of centre have central 18-pane sashes, whilst the others have central 12-pane sashes, all including a top tier of Gothic glazing bars. The gabled porch features a plain elliptical outer arch. Above it is the Hamstone date plaque inscribed "WS 1659". Above this sits a 19th century oculus window with glazing bars, and in the gable is the moulded surround of an original Hamstone window (now blocked). The gable coping and apex finial (identical to that at nearby Stallenge Thorne Farmhouse) are original. The passage front doorway is also original, featuring a slightly cambered head, moulded surround, carved stops and a contemporary studded plank door. The main roof and rear block roofs are gable-ended. The right end and rear contain a number of original Hamstone windows with ovolo-moulded mullions and hoodmoulds, including those on the main stair block. Other windows are 18th and 19th century timber casements, several containing rectangular panes of leaded glass. A late 18th century lead rainwater head to the gutter sits in the angle of the main stairblock and secondary rear block.

Interior: Much of the 17th century carpentry and other detail has been hidden by 18th and 19th century modernisations, but the original layout is well preserved and sufficient original work remains visible to demonstrate that these modernisations were essentially superficial. No ceiling beams are exposed. However, some secondary work is of high quality. The parlour displays only Georgian features: a moulded plaster cornice, marble chimneypiece and ornamental plaster overmantle featuring Apollo in his chariot flanked by garlands. The hall also has a Georgian plaster cornice but here the fireplace is exposed as Hamstone ashlar with a moulded Tudor arch and sunken spandrels. In the passage, the moulded plaster cornice is earlier in character than the others and could be 17th century. The kitchen fireplace is large, built of stone rubble with an oak lintel which is ogee-moulded with scroll stops. The broad main stair rises around a solid wall. The first floor includes a couple of original ovolo-moulded and scroll-stopped oak doorframes. The roof structure dates from 1659 and is carried on a series of tie beam trusses with threaded purlins. If there are collars, they are very high and hidden above the attic ceiling.

This is an attractive house, more Somerset than Devon in character. It shares many structural similarities with nearby Stallenge Thorne Farmhouse, which is dated 1675.