Crapstone Barton, Including Garden Wall And Gate Piers Immediately To West Of House

Crapstone Barton is a substantial farmhouse that originated as a small manor house, probably in the 16th century but extensively altered in the 17th century with internal modifications in the 18th and extended in the 19th. It is constructed of stone rubble walls, rendered at the front, with granite dressings. The roof is hipped with asbestos slate covering and sprocketted eaves. Three chimneys remain: a small rubble stack with moulded granite cap at the left-hand end, probably early 17th century; a very large rendered rubble lateral stack at the rear of the right-hand end; and a 17th-century rubble stack with splayed and moulded rim at the left-hand end.

The building's history is complex and incompletely understood. Documentary evidence indicates a house stood here in the later 16th century but was practically rebuilt by the Crymes family in the early to mid-17th century. The property comprises a very large hall to the right, heated by a rear lateral stack, with a through passage to its left. To the left of the passage is a lobby containing a staircase, followed by a smaller room (probably a parlour) and finally a small unheated service room. A two-storey porch was added to the front of the passage around the mid-17th century.

The plan shows puzzling features: the left-hand wall of the passage is exceptionally thick and extends to the roof, with rooms to its left narrower than the deeper hall to the right. This suggests it was once an external wall, though it is difficult to determine the original extent and layout. The similar roof structures in both parts suggest they cannot be far apart in date, possibly representing different stages of a single 17th-century rebuild. The scale of the building is surprisingly large, yet no rooms show evidence of kitchen use, suggesting the house once extended considerably further, likely with at least one wing.

In the early 18th century a new staircase was inserted to the left of the passage, and the room to its left was panelled and converted from service use to a parlour (this panelling was removed early in the 20th century). In the early to mid-19th century a parallel block one room deep was added along the rear, and possibly at this time the 17th-century building was reduced to its present size.

The building presents two storeys with an attic and an asymmetrical five-window front. A two-storey porch is positioned right of centre. The far left on the first floor contains an early 19th-century twelve-pane hornless sash window with a two-light chamfered granite mullion window below it. To the left of the porch on each floor is a two-light chamfered granite mullion window. The porch has a round-headed granite arch with roll moulding and chamfered surround, with outlined but undecorated spandrels and a blocked window opening above. The front doorway is granite, segmental-headed with roll moulding, and contains a probably 20th-century plank door. Stone seats flank either side of the porch. To the right of the porch the windows are four-light chamfered granite mullions; on both floors the right-hand windows are blocked and the left-hand ones contain late 20th-century uPVC windows. The 19th-century rear addition completely obscures the original rear wall.

The interior retains numerous high-quality features. The hall fireplace has moulded granite jambs with an oven in each side. Above it is a small plaque of moulded plasterwork bearing the Crymes and Drake arms below the date 1646. The room to the left of the passage has an early 18th-century shouldered wooden architrave and a two-panel door with bolection moulding and fielded panels. The contemporary staircase is a straight run with closed string, heavy turned newel, similar balusters and moulded handrail. At the top is a 17th-century wooden chamfered doorframe with a stopped right-hand jamb to fit the stair handrail, retaining its original studded plank door. The stairs continue to the attic; two mullion windows originally lit the stairwell but were blocked when the rear addition was constructed.

The room over the porch has a segmental-headed chamfered granite doorway with a 17th-century plank door. It is heated by a small granite-framed fireplace with moulded corbel stones and chamfered lintel and jambs. A second granite-framed 17th-century fireplace is located on the second floor at the left gable end. An unusual feature is a chamfered granite four-centred arched doorway with leaded lights providing passage between roof spaces through the thick wall.

Both roof structures are 17th century but of slightly different forms. Each part has substantial principals with straight feet, trenched and threaded purlins and morticed apex. In the left-hand part the collars are cranked and halved onto the trusses; in the right-hand part (with slightly lower pitch) the collars are cambered and set into the trusses.

Historical records show that Crymes of London purchased the manor of Buckland after the Dissolution and built himself a dwelling house there. The Devon Hearth Tax of 1674 records Ellis Crymes as having 17 fireplaces, confirming that the house was once considerably larger than its present form. The building's former status is reflected in the quality of its internal features and impressive facade.

The listing includes a rubble garden wall to the front of the house with tall squared piers opposite the porch.