West Down Farmhouse

DUNSFORD SX 88 NW

2/28 West Down Farmhouse

• II

Farmhouse. C17 or earlier. C20 addition. Cob on stone rubble footings, whitewashed and rendered to the front; thatched roof, half-hipped at left end, gabled at right end, the thatch replaced with corrugated asbestos at the front of the ridge. Single depth L-plan house. With no access to the roofspace the evolution of the building is not entirely clear but a chamfered jointed cruck truss in the centre of the 2-room single depth main range suggests the possibility of late medieval origins. The main range has a 2-room plan, the higher end to the right consisting of an unheated inner room and the hall with an axial stack backing on to the passage which is at the left end of the range. There is no lower room to the left of the passage and it is possible that there may never have been a lower end because the ground here drops away to a much lower level. The rear wing may be a later addition or a service wing instead of the traditional services at the lower end. There is a rounded stair turret in the angle between the rear wing and the rear right wall of the main range. In the C20 a single-storey kitchen has been added in the angle between the rear wing and rear left wall of the main range. 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 3-window front with regular fenestration. C20 half-glazed gabled porch and half-glazed front door into passage on the extreme left. C20 2- and 3-light casements with small panes at the top of each light. Bee-bole on front at right. Small blocked stair light to stair turret. Interior The principals of a jointed cruck truss are visible on the first floor with the principals chamfered below the joint. The hall has a C20 grate, probably concealing an earlier fireplace, and a chamfered cross beam with ogee stops. A C17 doorway with a cambered lintel leads intoa former stair. A doorway in the partition wall between the hall and passage has a timber lintel that may a fragment of a former screen. The inner room has a chamfered cross beam with step stops. A late C19/early C20 stair has been inserted in the hall at the inner end. No access to roofspace at time of survey (1985). A house with interior features of the C17. It is possible that an earlier roof structure may exist.

Listing NGR: SX7791991182