Martins Farmhouse

Martins Farmhouse

Farmhouse dating from the mid 16th century with late 16th and 17th century improvements—one dated 1654—and 18th century enlargement. It was substantially altered in the early 20th century with part-demolition, extensive rearrangement, and new extensions. The majority of the building, including the early 20th century front, is constructed of coursed blocks of massive granite ashlar. The remainder is granite stone rubble with large dressed quoins and some brick dressing to the rear. The building features granite stacks with granite ashlar chimney shafts and a slate roof (the early part was originally thatched).

The house faces south-south-east and is three rooms wide and three rooms deep. The narrow central front entrance hall is flanked by principal sitting rooms with gable-end stacks. Two rooms behind also have end stacks with the main stair between them. To the rear are three unheated service rooms—the left being the present kitchen, the right the former kitchen. The middle rooms form the historic core of a 16th and 17th century four-room-and-through-passage plan house, possibly a Dartmoor longhouse. The left (western) room was formerly an inner room parlour. The middle room, now occupied by the present stair, was a small unheated dairy. The right room was the hall. The hall was originally open to the roof, though this is not convincingly smoke-blackened. The former chamber over the dairy jetties into the upper end of the hall over what may have been an original low partition screen. The hall was floored in the mid 17th century, possibly associated with a date plaque of 1654. The hall stack is now an end stack, but the cornice along the back shows it was formerly an axial stack backing onto the through-passage. The passage and service end room or shippon were demolished in the early 20th century. The parlour was refurbished in the early 17th century. The right (eastern) room is a single-room 18th century rear block containing a stair. The remainder was built in the early 20th century. The building is two storeys throughout.

The exterior displays a 1:1:1 front. The outer bays are gabled and break forward, with plain bargeboards and terracotta finials. The windows, including ground floor canted bays, now contain circa 1980 aluminium casements. The centre bay is 17th century, dated 1654. The doorway is a depressed two-centred arch with an ovolo-moulded surround and lobed spandrels carved with leaves and fleur-de-lys. Directly above stands a date plaque inscribed 1654. Above that is a contemporary four-light granite-mullioned window containing rectangular panes of leaded glass. These 17th century features were erected here in the early 20th century, moved from the front of the passage or possibly from a porch there. The roof is gable-ended. The windows around the rest are 19th and 20th century casements, the latest without glazing bars. The end of the hall has a timber door and window in Tudor style but early 20th century in date.

The interior of the older core is of superior quality. The large hall fireplace, dating from the mid or late 16th century, is built of granite ashlar and has a 19th century side oven, probably a relining of a 17th century oven since this was then the kitchen. At the upper end is an original oak plank-and-muntin screen with a moulded cornice. Its muntins are chamfered with step stops high enough to accommodate a bench below and include a shoulder-headed doorway. There is evidence of an internal jetty at this end. The mid 17th century ceiling is a particularly fine example. The crossbeams have broad filletted ovolo mouldings with variant step stops. The exposed joists are also ovolo-moulded and have double-scroll stops. The parlour has a smart granite ashlar fireplace with an oak lintel featuring an ovolo surround with worn pyramid stops. The crossbeam has deep soffit-chamfers with step stops and, to the former dairy/present stair, an oak plank-and-muntin screen. Its muntins are chamfered with step stops and contain a band of ancient, probably 18th century, colour—a stencilled foliate and floral design of black and orange on a cream ground. The chamber above has a small granite fireplace with ovolo-moulded oak lintel. The roof structure over this section comprises side-pegged jointed cruck trusses which are not convincingly smoke-blackened. The 18th century extension roof consists of A-frame trusses with pegged and spiked lap-jointed collars.

Despite its alterations, this farmhouse contains a virtually complete section of a high quality 16th and 17th century house. The hall is particularly impressive.