74, High Street

A house, now used as offices, dating from the early to mid 17th century, situated on High Street, Barnstaple. The front of the house is timber-framed and jettied in the top storey, while the lower portion of the right-hand side wall (facing Holland Walk) is constructed of stone rubble, with the left-hand side wall also at the front built of stone rubble. The rear wall, visible from the adjacent property at No. 75, was originally exposed brickwork in the upper storey but has since been rendered. Slate hanging has been added to the second storey and on the right-hand side wall, a feature introduced during a restoration in 1971. The roof is slate, with the front parallel to the street and the rear at a right angle. Two large brick chimneys rise from the right-hand side wall, each featuring a pair of diagonally set shafts. A third chimney stack, originally with a single shaft, was present on the left-hand side in 1967, and its current state is uncertain.

The building’s layout consists of a single room width and two rooms in depth, with a stair compartment in the middle. Notably, the stair compartment and the rear room project slightly into the back of the plot, adjacent to No. 75. The house is three storeys high and originally had a single-window front, though this was rebuilt in 1971, preserving only the side walls. A shop occupies the ground floor, with a partially covered roof. A canted window is situated in the second storey, and there are two casement windows with two lights in the third storey. The third-storey windows now have casements instead of the sashes that were present in 1967, replicating the appearance of the earlier windows.

Remnants of 19th-century timber framing were removed during restoration work; however, ovolo-moulded uprights from what was likely an oriel window may remain, plastered in the second storey. The third-storey jetty on the right is supported by a concrete corbel, replacing a previous wooden one. A large stone corbel, formed from sandstone and limestone blocks with ovolo mouldings, supports the jetty on the left, with the walling above it being rebuilt in 1971. The front to Holland Walk is characterised by the two large chimneys, and the ground-floor display window and upper-storey windows all date from the 1971 restoration.

The interior retains old floor and roof timbers and fireplaces with plain wood lintels. Title deeds trace the property back to 1674, showing it was formerly owned by William Sallisbury and Nicholas Cutlief in 1617, and later sold by Elizabeth and Mary Stephens to Thomas Harris, a tanner. William Bond was the occupant in 1674, succeeded in the 17th century by William Allen, and by 1773 the property was known as the Three Cupps. The building’s significance lies in its rare example of early brickwork in Devon, and its distinctive combination of brick and jettied timber-framing is considered particularly remarkable, potentially unique in western England.