Lower Radley

A farmhouse, likely dating back to the 17th century or earlier, stands in Bishop’s Nympton. The walls are whitewashed cob on stone rubble footings, topped with a thatched roof featuring wheat reed grown on the farm. The roof has a plain ridge and gable ends, with end and axial stacks containing brick shafts.

The original design was probably a single depth, three rooms wide. It may have started as a two-room plan with a cross or through passage and end stacks. A third room was likely added in the 18th century, possibly alongside other improvements and the rear outshut, which extends the full length of the range. This outshut contains a straight staircase. Evidence suggests a former through passage connecting the central and right-hand rooms, providing access from the front to the rear, and into the farmyard. This passage has been interrupted by a straight stair. The room on the right was the kitchen; the owner reports that bread ovens may still be present in the stack of the central room.

The exterior is asymmetrical with a 5-window front. A 20th-century front door is located to the left of centre, likely leading to what was a cross passage. The windows are timber copies, dating from the 19th or 20th centuries, designed to resemble earlier styles – small-pane sashes flank the front door, while other windows are 2- and 3-light small-pane casements. A blocked door, visible inside, once gave access to the passage between the central and right-hand rooms.

The left-hand end of the house was not inspected internally. The centre ground-floor room features a 17th-century chamfered crossbeam with straight cut stops. The right-hand room has a slightly chamfered, probably 18th-century crossbeam with run-out stops. This room retains a partly-blocked fireplace with a timber lintel and two bread ovens. Upstairs, a 2-panel door and a mid/late 19th-century fireplace with a cast iron grate are present.

The roof rafters visible upstairs appear straight. The farmhouse retains a traditional character, and earlier features may lie concealed behind modern plaster or in the left-hand end of the building.