West Trecott Farmhouse

SAMPFORD COURTENAY SS 60 SW 5/165 West Trecott Farmhouse GV II

Farmhouse. Circa late C15 or early C17 with mid C17 addition, altered in C20. The walls are partly rendered but where exposed consist of coursed squared granite rubble with granite ashlar blocks to the projection at the front, elsewhere it may incorporate some cob. Thatch roof hipped to front range, gabled to rear wing. 2 brick axial stacks, fine granite ashlar axial stack with dripcourse and tapering cap. Rendered stack at gable end of rear wing. Plan: apparently a standard 3-room and through-passage plan with a central rear wing but in fact more complex than this suggests. The lower room to the left was originally of non-domestic use and still has only a loft above, divided from the rest of the house by a full height solid wall. The hall has its stack backing onto the passage and a slightly projecting window bay at the front. The inner room may originally have been unheated. Behind the hall is a rear wing consisting of 2 rooms with a solid wall in between; the end room has a large fireplace and probably functioned as a kitchen but the purpose of the adjoining room is unclear. It is possible that this wing is integral with the main range but a solid wall divides them and it is more likely to have been added in the mid C17. In the C20 the lower room was converted to domestic use. Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 3-window front; on the ground floor and to the left on the first floor are 1 and 2-light C20 casements without glazing bars except for that on the ground floor of the hall projection to right of centre. The other windows are circa late C19 4-pane sashes. To the left of centre is probably original granite doorframe with cranked head, recessed behind it is a C20 plank door. Interior: the back of the hall fireplace facing onto the passage is built of granite ashlar. The fireplace is granite-framed with chamfered lintel and jambs. The hall has a good quality framed ceiling of chamfered beams with bar stops. The inner room has a chamfered axial beam. The end room of the rear wing has a wide granite-framed fireplace, hollow chamfered, with an oven in the right-hand side. It also has chamfered ceiling beams. Roof: over the hall is one pair of side-pegged jointed crucks with threaded purlins. Access to the roofspace here was not possible at the time of survey so further details and possible evidence of smoke-blackening were not visible. Over the lower end, however, the full structure could be seen and the truss there consists of principals with curved feet, threaded purlins and a very high morticed collar - completely unsmoke-blackened. This was evidently built as a good quality house with a number of interesting internal features and an attractive facade.

Listing NGR: SS6359500447