Southcott Farmhouse

Southcott Farmhouse

A farmhouse of early 16th-century origin, substantially remodelled and extended over subsequent centuries. The building is constructed of rendered stone rubble and cob, with a concrete tiled roof that is hipped at the left end. It features an axial brick stack, a brick stack at the right gable end, and a stone rubble stack with brick shaft serving the rear service wing.

The building follows an overall L-shaped plan with three rooms and a cross-passage. The lower end is positioned to the right, with a gable-ended service wing to the rear of the main hall to the left. The original plan, though obscured by later modifications, certainly included an open hall positioned to the left of the passage. The hall was ceiled and the axial stack, backing onto the passage, was inserted probably in the 17th century. A kitchen or service wing was added to the rear of the hall later in the 17th century. In the late 19th century, the lower end below the stack was substantially remodelled, a staircase was added at the rear of the passage, and the outshut containing it was raised to one-and-a-half storeys. In the 20th century, the upper part of the front wall of the main range was rebuilt to heighten the roof, and a former staircase beside the kitchen wing stack was removed.

The building presents two storeys across a four-window range. The fenestration is 20th-century in date, consisting of two-light casements, with two three-light casements to the ground floor flanking a porch with gabled concrete tiled roof. The door is four-panelled with glazed upper panels. A 19th-century patterned tiled floor occurs within the porch. A lean-to stands at the left end, and a one-and-a-half storey outshut with corrugated iron roof is attached to the rear.

Interior features include two cross-ceiling beams to the hall, which are cased in. The bressumer at the lower end is chamfered and scroll-stopped on the hall side only. A probable creamery recess is present in the rear wall opposite the stack. A blocked doorway leads into the rear outshut. The hall stack was inserted centrally between the front and rear walls. A six-panelled door opens to the left of the stack, and a 20th-century cupboard blocks a further former doorway from the passage to the right. The hall fireplace lintel is a reused section of a former plank and muntin screen, bearing mortices for six muntins. The concealed inner face reveals the screen had a hollow-flanking roll-moulded cornice, and heavy charring indicates it has been in use as a lintel for a considerable length of time. It is possible this section originally formed part of a low screen partition between the hall and passage, removed when the stack was inserted. The lower end is featureless. A chamfered fireplace lintel with diagonal step stops occurs in the kitchen wing. A 19th-century straight-run staircase stands in the outshut to the rear of the passage.

The roof structure comprises three rough-pegged late 17th-century trusses to the rear kitchen wing, with the middle truss showing signs of smoke-blackening and possibly representing a reused purlin from the main range. Four late 19th-century trusses span the lower end. The hall roof consists of two trusses, originally apparently jointed crucks with the feet of three blades sawn off above the elbow. Two tiers of threaded purlins and a diagonally set ridge purlin are present. The inserted stack abuts into the truss over the lower end of the hall, which is nonetheless smoke-blackened on its lower side. This truss has a slightly cranked morticed and tenoned collar. The collar of the other truss has been removed. At the left end, the purlins have been sawn off and the roof modified to hip construction. All roof members over the hall, including trusses, purlins, rafters and surviving battens, except the introduced hip members, are thoroughly smoke-blackened.