Yeo Farmhouse

Yeo Farmhouse is a farmhouse of late medieval origins, remodelled and possibly extended in the 17th century, and virtually unaltered since the 19th century. The building is constructed of colourwashed rendered cob and stone rubble with a wheat reed thatched roof, gabled at the ends with a plain ridge. It has end stacks and a front lateral stack, all with brick shafts.

The house follows an L-shaped plan, with the main range facing south comprising three rooms and a cross passage. The lower end is positioned to the left, with the hall heated by the front lateral stack. The inner room lies to the right (east), with a single-room plan 17th-century north-east wing at right angles to it. A rear outshut encloses a rounded stair projection, with a further outshut at the left end.

The house originated as a high-quality open hall with an arch-braced wind-braced roof. Although the apex was not accessible at the time of survey in 1987, smoke-blackening is visible on the roof timbers in the two central bays, indicating the former extent of the open hall. The hall was floored in the early 17th century, with the rear stair presumably added at the same time. The ground floor room in the north-east wing, now used as a potato store, is unheated but contains good carpentry details and a fine plank and muntin partition. A plank and muntin partition with chamfered muntins and scroll stops confirms a 17th-century date. A probable 18th-century service stair rises in the lower end kitchen, parallel to the passage. The rear outshut, probably also 17th-century, retains an unglazed mullioned window. The left end outshut, serving as the back kitchen, is probably 19th-century. The rear of the cross passage has been partitioned to create a small room that formerly served as a dairy. On the first floor, rooms still open into one another, with a small store room over the lower end formerly serving as an apple store, accessed through one of the bedrooms. The 17th-century plan form remains almost wholly intact.

Exterior: The building is very unspoiled, presenting two storeys with an asymmetrical four-window front. The lateral stack sits to the right of centre with an adjacent hall bay. A 20th-century front door leads to the through passage to the left of centre; 19th or early 20th-century two-light timber casements with small panes are present. The traditional wheat reed thatched roof, grown on the farm, is an especially attractive feature. The rear elevation carries the thatch down as a catslide over the rounded stair turret, now partly enclosed by a slate-roofed outshut which includes an unglazed two-light mullioned window with a chamfered frame and diagonally-set timber stanchions. The north-east wing has a bitumen-painted slate roof; the east side of the wing has a 20th-century plank door and a three-light first-floor casement.

Interior: The interior is remarkably well-preserved. Although some features have been covered by 18th or 19th-century plaster, very little of the 17th-century and earlier fabric has been removed. The lower end kitchen has a deeply-chamfered step-stopped crossbeam, a timber bench in the window, and a partly-blocked fireplace probably concealing earlier jambs and lintel. The service stair is screened with a partition of wide planks and a door at the bottom. The 17th-century door from the kitchen to the passage has been removed but remains in the owners' possession. The hall has a plastered-over crossbeam and a 1950s fireplace almost certainly concealing earlier jambs and lintel. A 17th-century oak panelled settle is built into the south-west corner with an integral cupboard within the back. The hall bench survives along the east wall, returning into the hall bay. A splended panelled bench back is preserved along the east wall, crowned with a frieze of finely-carved Renaissance arabesques and initials appearing to be WS. A substantial late 19th or Edwardian fitted cupboard and chest of drawers is built into the west wall of the hall, reflecting its continued use as the grand room of the farmhouse at that date. The inner room was not seen at the time of survey; a plank and muntin partition between it and the wing has muntins chamfered with scroll stops. The wing room has a chamfered scroll-stopped crossbeam and a timber chamfered doorframe into the outshut. Like the ground floor, the first floor retains early wall plaster and is very unaltered.

Roof: Access to the apex was not available at the time of survey in 1987, but smoke-staining is visible on the purlins where limewash has come away, revealing a wind-braced arch-braced roof construction with chamfered arch braces in the centre of the house. The feet of the truss in the apple store appear to be straight, as do the feet of the trusses in the wing.

Yeo Farmhouse is a wonderfully well-preserved example of a large-scale traditional Devon farmhouse of medieval origins, rich in interior carpentry and joinery and possessing a fine medieval roof. Unusually, it has escaped unsympathetic alteration, and every effort should be made to ensure that future changes are kept to a minimum.