Three Ranges Of Farm Buildings West Of Rill Farmhouse

BUCKFASTLEIGH

SX76SE COLSTON ROAD 1011-1/4/18 (West side) Three ranges of farm buildings west of Rill Farmhouse

GV II

3 ranges of farm buildings: a shippon to the west, bank barn with hayloft over shippon to the north and what is now a dairy at the south, probably originally a stable. 1848 (datestone) and contemporary with a pound house (qv). Still in agricultural use. Local grey limestone rubble; slate roofs, hipped at ends with glazed ridge tiles. Plan: The buildings form 3 sides of a courtyard on a farm notable for a sharply sloping site where the ground rises to west of the house (qv). The 4th side is made up by a probably earlier building, known as Dove Barn (qv), which is a bank barn, the loft level with access from the yard. The pound house is sited parallel to the dairy range and forms with it a street system through the farmyard. The yard is reached from the house by a sloping track up between Dove Barn and dairy with an exit to the house between Dove Barn and dairy and an exit to the fields between Dove Barn and the bank barn. Bank barn. EXTERIOR: 4 ground floor doorways, 2 outer loft loading doors and a shuttered 2-light window in the centre. Loft access from the rear. The right end, at the junction with the shippon, has been altered with larger openings, supported by iron girder. Known as the root-house. Rear elevation has modern building erected against rear wall, which has one large doorway, one small doorway and a window, all into the loft. Pockets in the rear wall indicate provision for former drive shafts for machinery. INTERIOR: 8 trusses of queen post type with a vertical post to the apex. Dairy. EXTERIOR: built on sharply sloping ground and impressively tall from the rear. The elevation facing the yard has 2 windows in the centre flanked by doorways with a new window at the left end. Central loft loading door flanked by windows. Number of windows suggests original stable use. INTERIOR: not inspected except for the loft at the right end which has similar trusses to the other ranges. Shippon. EXTERIOR: lofted shippon with 8 ground floor doorways, 3 loft windows and 2 loft loading doors with a date plaque of 1848 and the initial JIE (the house has a date plaque of 1790 with a reference to the Edwards family). INTERIOR: 14 trusses matching those of the bank barn. Along with the pound house and Dove Barn this represents a good and exceptionally complete example of a mid C19 planned farm group with an emphasis on stock. The farmstead at Rill is a notable feature seen from the Totnes Road.

Listing NGR: SX7505464990