Old Rydon Inn

The Old Rydon Inn is a farmhouse, dating to around the early 17th century, with later additions likely from the 18th century and alterations in the 20th century. The walls are whitewashed rendered cob, with a bitumen-painted slate roof and gabled ends. It has axial and end stacks. The original 17th-century layout consisted of three rooms and a through passage, with the hall stack backing onto the passage, a lower end room to the right, and a narrower room to the left, the function of which isn't clear. A rounded external stair turret is located on the rear wall of the hall. A rear right wing with a hipped end, set at a right angle to the lower end, may be contemporary or a later service wing. A rear stair turret is now enclosed within a later lean-to which extends between the rear right wing and the left end. The building was likely re-roofed in the 18th century, possibly when a thatched roof was replaced with slates. In the late 19th or early 20th century, the front elevation was refenestrated (new windows were installed) and internal modifications were made to adapt the building for use as a restaurant. The front has an asymmetrical four-window arrangement with regular fenestration. A wide, half-glazed front door leads into the passage on the right side of the center, with a later 20th-century entrance featuring French windows into the left-hand (inner) room at the extreme left; both doors have 20th-century porches on posts. The ground floor windows are a three-light casement with three panes per light, and a two-pane sash window. Four first-floor windows are two-pane sashes. A lean-to adjoins the front on the right side, and a tall cob garden wall with corrugated iron capping forms the boundary of the garden. Internally, the 17th-century plan remains largely intact, and several 17th-century features are present. A plank and muntin screen is located at the lower end of the passage. The lower end room has a chamfered crossbeam with run-out stops, and a rebuilt or added fireplace. The hall has an open fireplace with a chamfered lintel with scroll stops and a chamfered crossbeam with scroll stops. The plank and muntin screen between the hall and inner room, which has chamfered stopped muntins, was partly dismantled, and the half was reused as the front of a bar in the hall. The inner room has a later, plain crossbeam and a blocked fireplace. Timber treads and risers are present on the stair within the stair turret.