2, 3 And 4, The College

The College, comprising numbers 2, 3, and 4, is a group of three adjoining properties, likely originally a single house. The structure probably dates to the late 15th and early 16th centuries, although it has undergone considerable alteration in the late 20th century. The walls are whitewashed and rendered, likely built on cob with stone rubble footings, and feature asbestos slate roofing towards the right and centre (formerly thatched), with a thatched roof remaining at the left end. The building has an axial stack to the left of the centre, a projecting front lateral stack with set-offs and a tall brick shaft, and a right-end stack.

The properties are situated on a raised pavement above Fordland Brook. The arrangement suggests a three-room and through-passage house, with number 2 being the lower end (on the right), number 3 the hall and passage in the centre, and number 4 the inner room (on the left). The original core is a late medieval two-bay open hall constructed with jointed cruck framing, likely floored over in the 17th century when the lateral stack was added. The evolution of the lower end (number 2) and the inner room (number 4), which has a higher roofline, is unclear. The front presents a picturesque, asymmetrical façade with four windows, the thatched roof of number 4 sweeping down to the junction with number 2. Modern front doors are located to the right of the lateral stack, at the extreme right, and on the left side of the range. The windows are mostly 2- and 3-light casements with glazing bars; the ground floor window to the left of the stack retains an old chamfered lintel.

Inside number 3, the passage has exposed ceiling joists. The hall features chamfered cross beams (with stops likely concealed behind plaster) and a large fireplace with chamfered Heavitree ashlar jambs and a timber lintel featuring diagonal stops. One smoke-blackened, face-pegged jointed cruck remains, with rafters and ridge replaced; the apex of the cruck is not visible. The interiors of numbers 2 and 4 were not inspected. The building’s name suggests a possible original ecclesiastical function. Two undated photographs (circa 1910 and 1940) are included in Rowland's publication, Ide (1985).