Coombery Coomery

House. Originally built in the early 16th century, remodelled in the early to mid 17th century, extended in the 18th or 19th century, and altered and extended in the 20th century. The building is constructed of painted and rendered stone rubble with a thatched half-hipped roof.

The plan originally comprised a 3-room and through passage arrangement with the lower end to the left. At least the hall, and probably the entire house, was originally open to the roof and divided by low partitions. During the early to mid 17th century, floors were inserted and an axial stack was built to heat the hall, positioned to back onto the passage. This stack features newel stairs against which it projects at the front of the house and rises from the hall. The stack at the higher right end may also date from the 17th century. A wing was probably added in the 18th or 19th century, and if it was originally a mill, living accommodation was extended into it later. In the late 20th century, the lower end (which had been demolished at some earlier period) was rebuilt with a large lateral stack at the front. More recently, the partition between the hall and inner room has been removed, an axial partition inserted, and a straight staircase installed in the rear wing.

The exterior comprises two storeys. The original range to the right has an asymmetrical three-window front with 20th-century casements and a rounded stair turret to the left of centre. To the left of the stair turret, the late 20th-century extension is set back slightly and features a wide recessed doorway with a segmented arch, an eyebrow window above, and a tall lateral stack to the left; the left end corner is rounded. At the back, the left wing has a large truncated end stack and a 20th-century porch in the inner angle. The rear windows are all 20th-century casements, and there are eyebrow dormers in the roof of the late 20th-century extension to the right.

Inside, internal partitions have been removed and the floor replaced. The fireplace at the lower end of the former hall has a timber lintel supported on a stone corbel at one end; the lintel is cut back with the chamfer largely destroyed. The jambs are of dressed slate and there is a stone oven. The newel stairs to the left of this fireplace have 20th-century timber treads.

The roof comprises three bays over the hall, the higher end, and over the inserted axial stack at the lower end of the hall, all smoke-blackened including the underside of the thatch which is lightly blackened. The principals are straight, their feet set into the wall tops. The truss at the higher end of the hall has a cambered collar with lapped notched joints to the principals which have a mortice and tenon apex and matrices for threaded purlins. The other truss over the middle of the hall has a collar halved and lapped to the principals which are halved at the apex; the threaded purlins have been replaced by closely spaced purlins lying on the backs of the principals. This suggests the roof was rebuilt using the original timbers while the hall remained open to the roof. The hall's axial stack has been inserted through this roof. The roof over the rear wing is probably 18th century.