Well Cottage

Well Cottage, Ideford

House dating from the mid or late 17th century with later alterations and additions. The building comprises a main range with a single-storey rear left lean-to, possibly 19th century, and a single-storey 1980s addition at the right end.

The main range is constructed of colourwashed rendered stone with cob above first floor level on the end walls. The wheat straw thatched roof has half-hipped ends. There are two rear lateral stacks: the stack serving the left room has an internal stone shaft, while the stack serving the right hand room projects with a tall brick shaft, the bricks possibly late 17th century. The 1980s right end addition is single-storey and thatched with reed.

The front elevation is asymmetrical with four windows of regular fenestration. The eaves thatch is eyebrowed over two attic dormers with 2-light casements of 3 panes per light. A 20th-century gabled porch with slate roof stands at the extreme right. To the left of centre is a 15-pane fixed window in the position of a former doorway. Another fixed window flanked by 2-light casements of 4 panes per light, lengthened in the late 20th century, is also present. The first floor has four 2-light casements of 3 panes per light.

Plan and Interior

The house has an interesting plan form: single depth, two rooms wide and two storeys with attic. The left hand room is slightly smaller than the right hand room, which features enriched detail and may have been the original kitchen, with the right hand room being the parlour. The original entrance appears to have been on the front wall between the two rooms, opposite a dogleg stair largely contained within an internal turret. This creates an open-sided lobby between the front door and the stair. A first floor landing provides access to the two first floor rooms, with a similar arrangement on the second floor.

The right hand room of the main range, probably the 17th-century parlour, has an ovolo-moulded cross beam with elaborate stops jewelled with a hollow step. Remains of a plaster cornice survive in this room, which has a rebuilt fireplace. The left hand room also has a rebuilt fireplace, located in the angle of the rear wall and left end wall and possibly re-sited from a rear lateral position. The stair is enclosed in a framed partition turret with a plank door and moulded doorframe; the heavy timber treads and risers are consistent with a late 17th-century date. The first floor room to the right has a chamfered cross beam with a scroll stop and a fireplace with a replaced timber lintel. The attic storey features collar rafter roof trusses mortised at the apex; the pegged halved collars have been replaced.

Historical Alterations

At one time the house was divided into two dwellings, and a 19th-century stair was inserted against the right end wall; the top flight of this stair, leading into the second storey, has since been removed. The single-storey rear left lean-to may date from this period of subdivision, providing a service room to the left half of the house. The position of the present front door, at the extreme right hand of the main range, is probably also attributable to the division of the house. The 19th-century stair adjacent to the right gable end wall has stick balusters. A single-storey 1980s kitchen addition was constructed at the right end.

The plan form is particularly interesting as it represents a transitional type between the cross or through passage plan and plan types which tie the main entrance more closely to the stair and circulation into rooms of specialized function. The use of a two-room plan with an attic storey suggests a shift in fashion from the longer, lower houses typical of the earlier 17th century.