Stowford Farmhouse

Stowford Farmhouse

A farmhouse of late 16th or early 17th century date with later 17th-century additions. The building is constructed from whitewashed rendered stone and cob, with a slate roof hipped at the left end and gabled to the right. Two tall lateral stone chimney stacks with offsets and brick caps stand to the front, heating the hall and inner room. The building originally followed an end-through-passage plan, though the lower end has been demolished.

Twin parallel gable-ended adjoining wings project to the rear, both of two storeys, with a brick stack to the larger gable end towards the centre of the rear elevation and a lean-to stair turret on its west side. A former axial stack with brick shaft, which heated a chamber over the hall, has been demolished.

The front elevation is two storeys with a four-window range. The fenestration is largely 19th-century, consisting mainly of three-light casements except for the second window from the right, which is two-lights with two panes per light. The ground floor has three three-light casements: the left window has three panes per light, while those to the right end have ten panes per light. A four-light hall casement with three panes per light also appears on the ground floor. A plank door with three-paned overlight is positioned at the left end.

To the rear, a tall timber ovolo-mullioned window of two lights appears on the east side of the rear gable, with four panes per light, the two lower panes forming casements. At the gable end is a two-light casement of four panes per light positioned above an ovolo-moulded window surround from a former four-light mullion window. The left side of this former window has been cut out and enlarged, with a doorway inserted. A short rubble wall with tiled capping extends westward from the rear, adjoining the rear through-passage doorway. A doorway through this wall features a fine ovolo-moulded timber surround with keel stops to the jambs, possibly reset from the rear of the through-passage.

Interior

The interior retains remarkably intact 17th-century features. A framed and ledged door with original latch leads from the through-passage to the hall, with a large bulbous stops to the ovolo-moulded surround. The hall contains two ovolo-moulded beams with possible carved leaf stops, obscured by later plasterwork. Horizontal tongue-and-groove dado boarding with an integral settle occupies the upper end of the hall. Two ovolo-moulded door surrounds with scroll stops to the jambs at the rear of the hall provide access to the stair turret and kitchen wing; the latter retains its old plank door.

A fine doorway to the inner room features large bulbous stops to the ovolo-moulded surround. The inner room has a central beam and bressumers with elaborate multi-beaded moulding and carved leaf stops. At the rear of the inner room, a fine door surround includes a four-centred arch with leaf spandrels and fluted pilasters supporting a pediment carved with a Tudor Rose and strapwork ornamentation.

The kitchen extension has a roughly chamfered beam but a fine ovolo-moulded door surround to the dairy with large bulbous stops to the jambs. A second staircase from the kitchen features a chamfered door surround at its head with scroll-stopped jambs.

The majority of original plank doors survive to the upper storey. The principal chamber to the right is now divided but retains a plasterwork frieze at each end and a fine plasterwork overmantel depicting the Sacrifice of Isaac. This overmantel is decorated with four heads around a strapwork cartouche, large rosettes in the frieze, and naturalistic moulding with rampant beasts along its base. The doorway to the chamber at the head of the principal stairs has bulbous stops to the ovolo-moulded surround and further scroll-stopped chamfered jambs to rear passage doorways.

The chamber in the rear wing has a similar doorway, with part of a plain moulded plaster cornice surviving to two sides of the room. Above this chamber is a collar rafter roof. The roofspace to the main range is divided by a solid cob partition between the hall and inner room rising to the apex. Over the hall are two trusses with straight principals, trenched purlins and lap-jointed collars, of slightly rougher construction than the single truss over the inner room, which has threaded purlins and ridge purlin. No signs of smoke blackening are present.