Town Farm, Including Wall Adjoining South-East And Railings Adjoining East

SS 4836-4936 BRAUNTON NORTH STREET, Braunton

12/98 Town Farm, including wall - adjoining south-east and railings adjoining east

• II*

Farmhouse, now farm store. C15 or early C16. Partially roughcast rendered stone and cob. Corrugated asbestos roof hipped at upper end gable end to street. Rubble stack extended in brick at upper end. Offset brick stack to rear and large lateral hall stack at front with slated offsets, tapered cap and small rounded bread oven in the angle. 2-storeys basic 3-cell cross passage plan but upper end has slightly projecting gabled 'cross-wing' forming truncated L-shape plan. Cross-passage also widened to form extra middle room. 1½ storey outshut added to rear in the angle of the L-shape. At a later stage, probably C19, the upper end was boarded off and a staircase added to rear to form separate single cell dwelling. Courtyard facade has 3 window range of horizontal sliding sash 8 panes over 8 panes to left then 3 light window with glazing bars and 2-light window (6 panes each) to right of stack inserted in former large opening. Below is sash 8 panes over 8 panes at upper end to left of 6-panelled door. Tall 4-light hall window with ovolo mullions, formerly with leaded lights, now glazing bars. Cross-passage door to right of stack has 4 panels in the upper part, planked in lower 2 panels. Rear side has 3-light window with ovolo-moulded mullions in the gable-ended "cross-wing" over a 2-light window with timber surround. Rest of range has small oblong opening to left of 3 square openings with timber lintels. 2-light casement over. Street gable end has 2 sashes 8 panes over 8 panes. Much of the internal joinery is intact including fleur-de-lis hinges to the doors. Wooden newel staircase to rear of hall with moulded handrail. Raised cruck truss over lower end of hall with chamfered arch-braces to slightly cambered collar. Further truss over lower end with lighter straight principals. Both trusses, two tiers of purlins threaded through the cruck truss, trenched in the lower truss, rafters mostly intact and hipped construction at lower end are all smoke-blackened. Roof structure over hall entirely replaced in C20. At upper end, one main truss in the cross-wing with threaded purlins survives, no evidence of smoke-blackening. Including section of wall to road adjoining south-east and enclosing east side of farmyard. Whitewashed stone rubble with tiled capping and iron railings at east end of house, wrought iron with spear headed shafts. Town farmhouse and its range of farm buildings (q.v.) is the Village Farmstead in Braunton. It is a remarkable survival of a townfarm in a nucleated settlement which still has its open field system, the West Field.

Listing NGR: SS4852536657