Brooke House

Brooke House, located at No. 40 North Street in Ipplepen, is a house that was likely originally a farmhouse. It dates back to the 17th century but underwent significant remodeling and extension around 1830, with a 19th-century wing added later. The exterior features stucco walls, likely over limestone rubble, and a gable-ended asbestos slate roof. There are three rubble stacks; the one on the left gable end is exposed stone, while the axial and right-hand gable stacks are rendered. The rear wing has a rendered brick gable end stack.

Originally, the house had a three-room layout with a through passage, where the lower room to the right and the inner room were heated by gable end stacks. The remodeling in the 1830s likely involved extending the lower end to create a stair hall and two principal rooms, with the larger room on the lower left and a smaller room on the right, still on the lower side of the original hall stack. The service rooms were integrated into the original hall and inner room. A parallel block was added at the rear of the lower end either during the same period or slightly later in the 19th century.

The house is two stories tall and has a six-window front with a symmetrical three-window bay to the left featuring 1830s two-light casements with Gothic Y-tracery and arched lights. At the center, there is a two-storey porch with a pointed arched doorway below a window, which has contemporary part-glazed double doors adorned with simple Gothic tracery. To the right, there is another three-window bay for the service end, which has triangular-headed two-light casements. The house also features a moulded cast iron gutter with lion head masks.

Although the interior was inaccessible during the survey, it is noted that the windows in the two principal rooms have contemporary shutters with a Gothic tracery pattern that matches the windows. A good quality 19th-century staircase may also be present. Brooke House is a notable example of how many 17th-century houses were remodeled in the 19th century, and the quality of the 19th-century work is particularly impressive, with an attractive facade that has survived intact, showcasing its Gothic fenestration.