Courtyard Wall Immediately To West Of Blegberry Farmhouse And Extending Approximately 50 Metres To The South

The courtyard wall immediately to the west of Blegberry Farmhouse, extending approximately 50 meters to the south, is a Grade II* listed structure dated 1606. This wall, which is part of the farmhouse's defensive courtyard, features battered rubble construction with shaped stone coping and a dripcourse. It curves around the southwestern side of the house, providing a view of the sea. Inside the wall, there are stone steps and a small rectangular projection. At the northern end, a date-stone from 1606 bears the initials "WA," representing William Atkyns, who died in 1608. The wall includes pistol loops with wide internal splays and has a simple doorway with a rough stone lintel at the southeastern corner. At the northern end, it incorporates a likely inserted one-storey stone outbuilding with stone steps leading to a central doorway and small windows on either side. To the south, the wall continues parallel to a cart track for about 50 meters before returning to the east with a noticeable batter at the corner. This wall is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a 17th-century defensive structure associated with a coastal farmstead, a type not known elsewhere in Devon. The north coasts of Devon and Cornwall were notorious for pirate activity during Tudor and Elizabethan times, with a commission issued in 1608 to address the issue of merchants being robbed at sea by pirates taking refuge at Lundy.