Essington Cottages With Attached Barn To East

NORTH TAWTON ESSINGTON ROAD SS 60 SE North Tawton 13/98 Nos. 27 & 29 Essington Cottages with attached barn to east GV II Pair of cottages with attached barn. Early C16 with C17 alterations, probably divided into 2 in C19. Rendered cob walls. Thatch roof gabled to left end, hipped to right. One axial brick stack and rendered rubble stack projecting from left gable end with brick shaft. Plan: originally 3 rooms with through passage, lower end to the right, open to the roof at least over the hall which had central hearth. Hall ceiled and fireplace inserted backing onto passage in circa early C17. Lower end remained unheated but a fireplace was inserted in the inner room also probably in the C17. The barn beyond the lower room is probably an C18 addition. When the house was divided into cottages the lower room was downgraded to outbuilding use. Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 3-window front. No. 27, left-hand cottage, has circa early C20 3-light casement on first floor and single light casement below. C20 gabled porch to left with plank door. Right-hand cottage (No. 29) has 3-light C20 casements to left on each floor with 2-light window at centre on first floor and 1-light window to left of centre on ground floor. Loading hatch at right-hand end on first floor. Central C20 porch with part-glazed door. Attached to the house at the right end is a 1-storey barn with wide central cart entrance. Interior of No. 29 has chamfered wooden lintel to open fireplace in hall and chamfered half beam above. Lower room has very heavy cross beam, chamfered with bar and hollow step stops. At the rear of the passage, now enclosed by a C20 addition, is an early wooden doorframe with cranked head and heavy plank door. Roof has been mainly replaced in C20 but over the hall original smoke-blackened rafters and thatch survive with the remains of one smoke-blackened truss which has been cut off by the insertion of the stack.

Listing NGR: SS6687501938