Chelfham Barton

Chelfham Barton is a barton, largely of the 17th century, though earlier fabric may be incorporated within the structure. It has 19th-century additions. The building is constructed of stone rubble, with a rendered façade and whitewashed surfaces. The roofs are slate, with gable ends. There is a tall rubble chimney at the rear of the main hall, a brick chimney behind a left-end projection, and a chimney at the gable end of a dairy projection to the front left end. The building has a main hall, a crosswing, and a through-passage plan, with three gable-ended projections to the rear and a dairy projection to the front left.

The front has two storeys and a 3-window range of 19th-century casement windows; one 3-light window to the left end and two 2-light windows to the right, each with 6 panes per light. A lean-to porch with a slated roof has a 12-pane fixed light and a plank door. Casement windows to the hall and an inner room on the right have two 2-light windows with 6 panes per light, flanking an 18-pane horizontal sliding sash window, all under a continuous stone dripmould. The dairy projection has two 2-light casements to the front and large buttresses to the rear right side corner.

A brief inspection of the through-passage revealed rich detailing including 17th-century oak panelling with a cambered arched doorway to the hall. The through-passage and crosswing doorways also date to the 17th century, featuring ovolo-moulded surrounds and richly carved stops at the base of the jambs. The front through-passage door is impressive, with two large panels above twelve smaller ones, thick cover strips and a moulded surround; the doorway has bulbous and foliated carvings above rams horn stops at the base of the jambs. The remainder of the interior and roof space were not inspected.

The building forms a good group with the granary, stables, piggery, and yard walls.