Courtyard Range Of Model Farm Buildings About 10 Metres South Of And On Opposite Side Of Road To Wistlandpound Farmhouse

A mid-18th century courtyard range of model farm buildings stands about 10 metres south of, and on the opposite side of the road to, Wistlandpound Farmhouse. The buildings consist of a bank barn with an attached mill house, a granary, stables, cart sheds, shippons (animal shelters), calf houses, and stable-workers accommodation. Constructed from unrendered stone rubble, the buildings feature ashlar and brick dressings.

The farmyard is an impressive, planned design with four integral ranges enclosing and facing into a central courtyard, accessed by front and rear entrances. A bell turret sits above the front range, flanked by shippons. To the rear, on the east side, is the bank barn with an attached mill house; on the rear range are stables and cart sheds, and on the west side, stable-workers accommodation and other associated buildings. The south and north ranges are primarily single-storey, while the bank barn is two-storey at the rear on the east side and lofted on the west side.

The north range has three louvred windows above an ashlar entrance gateway with a cambered stone arch flanked by twin engaged pilasters. An octagonal bell turret, with an ogee lead roof and weathervane, rises above, supported on channelled pilasters. A bell remains in situ. Most of the openings face into the central courtyard.

The bank barn has four window openings; two to the right are infilled above two plank doors flanking cart entrances and stone steps leading to a window and door. The range to the left has a door over a plank door, and the range to the right has stone steps leading to a granary door with a window above a cart entrance. The south range has two stable doors flanked by window openings to the left of a wide opposing courtyard entrance, with five cart entrances to the right. The west range has, from left to right, a courtyard entrance with three doors and a window above, a cart entrance with a 16-pane window above, doors, a cart entrance to the left, a window, and a loft door above the north range. The north range has two doors flanking a cart entrance to the left of the courtyard entrance and three doors to the right. The attached mill house at the rear of the barn retains its overshot mill wheel. This is a remarkably intact model farmyard, with no other comparable examples in North Devon. It appears to have been built by the Fortescue family and was later occupied by the manager of the Knights of Exmoor estates.