South Town

This is a mid-17th century house, originally a farmhouse, situated in Sampford Courtenay. The building is constructed of rendered cob and rubble, with a thatched, gable-ended roof and two brick gable end stacks. The original plan is unusual, comprising a three-room and through-passage layout, with two principal heated rooms at either end and a small, unheated dairy at the centre, a short passage running behind it. A newel staircase is contained within a projection to the rear of the passage. The plan has seen minor alterations: a lengthening and rebuilding of the lower gable end wall, and the removal of the partition between the left-end room and the dairy.

The exterior is asymmetrical, featuring a four-window front with 19th-century small-paned, two, three and four-light casement windows. A 20th-century plank and part-glazed door is located to the right of centre on the ground floor. All ground floor window openings retain their original chamfered and stopped wooden lintels. At the rear, a rectangular stair projection is positioned to the right of centre, with a surviving original three-light wooden mullion window. A 20th-century wing extends to the right of the stair projection.

Inside, the passage retains screens with moulded edges to the muntins; the lower side is moulded on both sides, the upper side chamfered in reverse. A similar screen divides the small central room from the passage behind, and the right-hand room features a chamfered cross beam with hollow step stops. The left-hand room has a fireplace with an ovolo-moulded wooden lintel and rough granite jambs, chamfered ceiling beams, and mortices for a screen above the former partition to the dairy. The doorway to the stairs and the doorframe at the head of the stairs both have ovolo-moulded wooden frames. The roof retains two original trusses, consisting of face-pegged jointed crucks with projecting octagonal-ended pegs, simply crossed at the apex with trenched purlins and dovetail-lapped collars. One truss is likely a closed truss and incorporates a framed partition below it on the first floor. This is a notably complete example of a mid-17th century house, exhibiting an interesting plan form and high-quality features.