Gunnacott Farmhouse And Garden Wall To The North East

Farmhouse. Dating from the late 16th to early 17th century, it is constructed of stone rubble and cob, with whitewashed and rendered finishes. It has a slate roof with gabled ends. The property features a large stone stack at the left end, a projecting stack at the right end, and an axial stack heating the hall. Originally, the house comprised a 3-room and passage main range with a crosswing at the upper end, divided between a parlour to the front and a stair to the rear. The hall has a 2-storey gabled bay to the front and a stack backing onto the passage; the lower end of the main range was the kitchen. An extension to the front was added to the inner room. During the 19th century, a rear left wing was added to the lower end, forming a U-shaped layout, and an outbuilding with separate access was added to the rear of the crosswing at the inner end. The main range has undergone re-roofing in three phases, including a replacement in the 1980s of what was likely a 16th-century barrel ceiling over the hall. The property is now divided into two separate occupancies. The front facade is asymmetrical, with a 4-window arrangement and two gables to the right, resulting in three distinct rooflines. A 19th-century gabled porch provides access to the front door, situated in the passage to the left; a 20th-century door accesses the gable end of the parlour wing on the right. The ground floor includes two 3-light granite mullioned windows with hollow-chamfered mullions and deeply-splayed sides. A window lighting the hall is located within the 2-storey bay, and a smaller granite window to the left of the porch illuminates the kitchen. The first floor of the 2-storey bay features a matching mullioned window. Other first-floor windows are likely late 19th century, including two 3-light casements with glazing bars and one 16-pane sash. A 2-light granite mullioned window with wide lights illuminates the stair. The interior retains significant early to mid-17th century joinery, particularly in the upper end of the house. A bench along the hall’s inner wall, which originally extended into the bay, features a softwood, grained panelled back with reeded pilasters and a decorated top frieze. The hall also has rough, closely-spaced ceiling beams and an open fireplace with a replaced lintel. Other original joinery features include several ovolo-moulded doorframes, one with jewel stops, and a panelled door. While the newel stair balusters have been replaced with 19th-century stick balusters, portions of the stair may be original. A great chamber above the hall retains 17th-century panelling. The upper hand of the hall has two 17th-century cross beams with chamfers and broach stops. A stone rubble garden wall to the north east includes large rectangular recesses below a slate drip ledge, possibly used for bee boles. The property is a good example of a high-status house with a substantial amount of original 17th-century joinery remaining, and it is noted to have been the home of the Pote family from the 14th century to the early 18th century.