Middle Luscombe

Middle Luscombe is a house, formerly a farmhouse known as Skindles Farmhouse, dating from the early 17th century. It is constructed of colour-washed stone rubble, with an asbestos slate roof having gabled ends. The house has massive rendered axial stacks, one to the right of the ridge and a projecting gable end stack to the left. A further gable end stack is present at the higher end.

The original layout comprised three rooms arranged around a through passage, with the axial stack located at the inner end of the hall. The lower room on the left was likely originally a parlour, or later converted as such when a kitchen wing was added to the rear of the higher end in the 18th or early 19th century. The gable end stack associated with the higher end may have been added around this time. Around the early 19th century, the passage was widened, and a stair tower was built at the back of the passage. A two-storey porch, dating back to the 17th century, stands at the front of the passage.

The front elevation is a long three-window range. Original window openings are visible, featuring chamfered timber lintels with long scroll or step stops, although the central hall window lintel is rendered. Most of the windows are 19th-century 3-light casements with glazing bars. A late 18th or early 19th century 4-light casement with leaded panes is present on the first floor centre. A similar window to the right on the first floor has been partly blocked. The original front window remains on the ground floor to the right, in the inner room, and presents as a 4-light ovolo moulded timber frame. The passage doorway to the left of centre is protected by a two-storey stone porch with a finely dressed slate round arch and imposts. The inner door frame features hollow and ovolo moulding with baluster stops, and the entrance is secured by a massive, nail-studded plank door with wrought iron hinges. The rear elevation exhibits a 3-light ovolo moulded timber window with stanchion bars on the first floor of the lower right-hand end, along with a two-storey lean-to roof stair tower addition at the centre, and a gable-ended kitchen wing to the elevated end. All rear windows apart from the lower end first floor window are 19th-century casements with glazing bars.

Internally, a section of 17th-century plank and muntin screen remains in the lower side of the passage; the muntins have scratch mouldings. The hall fireplace, which incorporates an oven, has an ovolo moulded timber lintel with barred run-out stops. The hall ceiling is plastered. A roughly chamfered ceiling beam is visible in the inner room, which also has a fireplace in the end wall with a replaced lintel. The fireplace in the lower end room shows an ovolo moulded timber lintel with barred run-out stops. A later staircase with stick balusters and square newels has been inserted into the rear of the widened passage. A later partition divides the stair hall. The roof structure has been altered, but some 17th-century principal rafters remain, displaying holes for missing threaded purlins and pegged lap jointed apexes and collars.