Paul'S Shop

Paul's Shop is a derelict house located in the centre of Germansweek village, possibly originally serving as the Church house. The building dates from the late 15th or early 16th century, with subsequent alterations made during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

The structure comprises local stone rubble walls rising to the first floor, above which the walls are plastered brick. The roof is gabled at the right end and hipped at both the left end and over a rear outshut. There are two rubble chimney stacks with brick shafts: one is positioned axially, while the other at the right gable end is semi-circular on plan, which is exceptionally unusual for Devon.

The plan originally consisted of either two or three rooms with a through-passage, with the lower end positioned to the right. The inner room may be an addition, as a thick wall of apparently full height separates it from the hall, and its roof structure is not visible from within. The hall and possibly the lower room were originally open to the roof timbers. Evidence of a double door-head between the passage and lower end suggests the service end may originally have been divided longitudinally into two rooms. During the 17th century, an axial stack was inserted into the hall backing onto the passage, and the house was floored-in at this stage. The lower end stack was probably added in the 18th century. The rear outshut was likely added in the 18th century, extending behind both the lower end and hall. The inner room, if not original, may also date from the 18th century and remained unheated.

The front elevation is two storeys tall and asymmetrical, with three windows. The left-hand and central first-floor windows are 19th-century two-light casements. The two right-hand windows are 19th-century sixteen-pane sashes, the ground-floor example being hornless and probably earlier than its neighbour. A 19th-century plank door stands to the right of centre, with a doorway to the left leading into the inner room. The rear elevation features an 18th-century wooden frame to the inner room, which formerly contained square-section mullion and stanchion bars. An outshut extends to its left to the end of the building.

The interior retains several significant medieval features. The hall is covered by a jointed cruck truss, which is heavily smoke-blackened and not fully accessible for inspection. A further truss covers the lower end, also smoke-blackened, with a morticed collar and triangular strengthening block at the apex. The feet of the lower end truss were not inspected. Purlins are smoke-blackened and appear to be threaded. The roof over the higher end is not accessible. The passage contains a round-headed wooden door frame beside the stack leading into the hall, and a similar double door-head with central jamb missing at the lower side. A block of solid wall rises from the front of the passage to the roof apex. The hall features unstopped chamfers to the longitudinal ceiling beam and a fireplace with lightly chamfered wooden lintel, stone rubble jambs, and an oven projecting into the passage. A 19th-century framed staircase rises within the hall to the rear of the stack. The lower room has a similar longitudinal beam to the hall and a 19th-century wooden chimney piece, with an 18th-century two-panel door opening to the passage. The lower end wall of the outshut contains a blocked two-light chamfered wooden mullion window, probably reset, though if in its original position it would suggest a 17th-century date for the outshut.

Despite its derelict condition, this house incorporates numerous good late medieval features and, as a possible Church house, possesses considerable historic interest. Its prominent central location within this unspoilt village enhances its significance.