Brimblecombes

Brimblecombes is a house with origins dating back to the early 16th century, with remodelling and possibly an extension in the 17th century. It is constructed of whitewashed rendered cob on stone rubble footings, topped with a thatched roof that is hipped at the right end and gabled at the left end. The house features an axial stack and a projecting granite stack at the left end. The layout consists of three rooms and a through passage, with the lower end located to the left. The core of the house is a two-bay medieval open hall. A stack, likely added in the 17th century, backs onto the passage; the inner room is unheated, while the lower end room is heated by the end stack. A staircase from the 19th century has been inserted in the passage, and there is a rear left lean-to with a corrugated iron roof, which may be a later addition.

The house is two storeys high and has an asymmetrical three-window front. The thatched eaves are eyebrowed over three first-floor windows. To the left on the front is a 19th-century panelled front door leading to the passage, and to the right of this door is a projecting rectangular bread oven. The windows are 2- and 3-light casements, likely from the 19th century, with two or three panes per light.

Inside, the house retains a medieval roof and many features from the 17th century. The rear doorway has chamfered jambs and a cranked lintel. The hall fireplace has stone rubble jambs and a replaced lintel, along with a chamfered cross beam. An oak plank and muntin screen at the inner end of the hall features chamfered muntins with step stops at the level of the hall bench. The lower end room includes a chamfered cross beam with step stops. The roof contains two medieval smoke-blackened jointed cruck trusses with cambered collars mortised into the principals, and smoke-blackened rafters and battens are still present. Brimblecombes is a particularly fine example of a thatched house with a medieval core, located near a thatched barn close to the centre of Dunsford village, contributing to the attractive approach to the village.