Sowton Farmhouse

Farmhouse. Dating from around the late 16th century, with additions from the 17th and 19th centuries. The farmhouse is constructed of rendered stone rubble with gable ended slate roofs – one of slate and one of asbestos – at slightly different levels. There are three brick stacks to the main range, one at each gable end and one axial stack, with a gable end rendered rubble stack to a rear wing. A brick chimney shaft is also present on the rear outshut. Originally designed with a three-room layout and a through passage, the lower room is on the left. The hall stack backs onto the passage, and the lower and inner rooms were originally heated by gable end stacks, which may not be original. A single-room rear wing was added in approximately the mid 17th century, and a parallel dairy wing was added in the 19th century. The two-storey front has an asymmetrical arrangement of four windows. The two first-floor windows in the centre are 19th-century 2-light casements with small panes, and a similar window is located to the right, which is of 20th century origin. A 20th century 4-light casement with glazing bars is set in a dormer to the left on the first floor, under which is a semi-circular bay window, also of the mid 20th century. To the right of the bay window is a single-light, 20th-century casement with glazing bars, and a 3-light 20th century casement is found at the far right. A lean-to porch, constructed of dressed granite blocks, is in the centre, incorporating an original late 16th-century 4-centred arch with moulded jambs and decorated spandrels. A mid 20th-century 3-light casement is placed to the right of the porch. At the rear, a single-light granite framed 16th-century window with an arched head is located to the right of the centre. The parallel left-hand wings include a 17th-century wing to the right, which has small-paned 19th-century casements on its inner face. A 19th-century lean-to is centrally located at the rear. Internally, there are two 4-centred granite arched doorways at the front and rear of the passage, and a similar arch leads from the passage into the hall. One such arch has been re-used in a rear outshut that may originally have led into the lower room. The 17th-century rear wing room has fairly heavy chamfered cross beams and a chamfered wooden lintel over the fireplace. Other fireplaces have modern grates. Roof trusses were not inspected, but relatively insubstantial feet to straight principals visible on the first floor suggest they are 18th century or later.