Vinnicombes And Lower Vinnicombes

Vinnicombes and Lower Vinnicombes is a farmhouse that has been converted into two houses. It dates from the late 15th century to early 16th century and features rendered and painted cob walls with a diagonally set asbestos slate roof on two levels, which was originally thatched. The building has a brick stack over the left gable end, an axial stack to the right of this, a rear lateral stack, and a stone stack with a brick shaft over the right gable end. Originally, it had a three-room, through-passage plan, but now includes an additional lower room from the 17th or 18th century and rear outshuts.

The structure is two storeys high with an irregular five-window front. The left side, Lower Vinnicombes, has 19th-century, two-light casements with small panes. The ground floor features two windows to the left of the current doorway, which has a small gabled porch, and two windows to the right. The far right window is located in the original doorway position that led to the through passage. This section shares the same roof as Vinnicombes, which has 20th-century windows and a single-storey flat-roofed extension on the ground floor.

Inside the higher-roofed part, there are many original features, including a smoke-blackened four-bay jointed cruck roof structure with cambered collars and wide threaded purlins. Two frames have been altered, likely in the 17th century, with tie beams replacing cruck posts. A round-arched oak, chamfered doorframe survives at the rear of the through passage, with the upper parts of the jambs forming the lower part of the arch. Only the top rail and beam of the screen to the left of the passage remain, featuring a chamfer and cavetto moulding on the lower room side and original joists, while the right screen is intact with chamfered muntins and an original shouldered doorframe.

The floor over the passage is jettied to the right, on the hall side. The main hall ceiling is later, probably from the late 16th century, and is at a higher level, featuring one original cross beam with chamfers and stepped stops, along with some moulded joists. The lateral rear hearth dates to the same period and has an oak lintel. There is a Tudor-arched oak doorframe to the left of the fireplace and a flat-headed doorframe on the first floor to the right of the chimney, likely for access to a newel stair, which is no longer present.