Great Halmpstone

GREAT HALMPSTONE, BISHOPS TAWTON

A mansion house, now farmhouse, probably of the 15th century with possibly earlier concealed fabric, entirely remodelled around 1700. It is constructed of stone rubble with brick plat-band and slate roofs with crested ridge tiles, hipped to the front range with coved eaves cornice.

The building comprises two storeys and an attic storey. Brick shafts serve as rear lateral stacks at each end of the main range; the left stack has slated offsets, while the right stack is enclosed in a rear extension which contains a further ridge stack and triple diagonally set brick shafts to the gable end.

The remodelled front range presents a symmetrical facade with a large principal room on each side of a wide entrance hall, served by a stair turret to the rear. The partition walls flanking the entrance hall are of significantly different thicknesses. The much thicker dividing wall on the east side aligns with a right-angled rear wing, creating an overall L-shaped plan. The wing and the eastern portion of the main range appear to contain the earliest fabric, with the western portion of the main range rebuilt around 1700 to achieve the symmetrical facade.

The front elevation features three gabled dormers with 2-light windows of 3 panes per light, and a 5-window range of 2-light cross windows with 4 over 6 panes, beneath a weathered continuous plasterwork cornice hoodmould. The ground floor contains two 2-light cross windows with 4 over 8 panes, rising to just below the plat-band, which is interrupted by a wide relieving arch infilled with a plank door with 2-paned overlight.

The rear wing on the east side has one 3-light and a 2-light ovolo timber mullion window positioned close to eaves level, above two doorways with infilling to the right side. A 2-light over 3-light window appears at the left end. A dairy outshut in the angle of the main range and rear wing displays a timber 3-light ovolo mullion window at its right end.

Interior features include the principal room to the east, which has a stone bolection-moulded chimneypiece. All four walls are panelled with large panels above and lying panels below a thin dado rail, integral window shutters, cupboards on the east wall, and a bolection-moulded door surround. The principal room to the west has a blocked-up fireplace and two ceiling beams, plastered over. A dog-leg staircase features acorn finials to heavy newels of square section, a moulded handrail, and turned balusters. The east bedroom contains a bolection-moulded chimneypiece set across the corner. A moulded plaster cornice ornaments the bedroom over the entrance hall.

The roof structure, only partially accessible in the attic storey, shows the principal truss over the east end of the main range with heavy principals bearing short curved feet, and an arch-braced collar tenoned into mortices to the soffits of the principals. The arch bracing has chamfers to both arrises and joins at the centre of the collar. Originally three tiers of threaded purlins existed. The truss may be reset, though it is possible that the four remaining trusses to the main range are also medieval; the two at the west end in particular appear to have curved and possibly jointed feet, but lack arch bracing. The purlins have been sawn through where the dormers were inserted.