Shippen Farmhouse

Shippen Farmhouse is a farmhouse dating to the late 16th or early 17th century, or possibly earlier, with a late 20th-century addition and renovations. It is constructed of whitewashed rendered cob on stone rubble footings, with a thatched roof that is gabled at the right end and hipped at the left end. There is a stack at the right end and an axial stack with a rendered shaft. Originally a single-depth main range, four rooms wide, the house has a rear left wing added in the 20th century, creating an overall “L” shape.

The right-hand room of the main block is a later addition, while the rest of the main block is of jointed cruck construction, dating to at least the late 16th or early 17th century. Roof timbers over the two right-hand rooms of the main block exhibit light smoke-staining, and while this may be wood preservative, it suggests possible medieval origins for the original plan. A framed partition in the roofspace rises above a plank and muntin screen, appearing clean on both sides, which hints at a former hall and narrow inner room layout. The left-hand room is heated by a modern stack backing onto the hall stack. The lower end and passage may have been rebuilt, but likely close in date to the higher end. The extreme right-hand room is probably an 18th or early 19th-century addition, with a late 20th-century thatched wing at the rear right.

The asymmetrical front elevation has five windows, with the eaves of the thatch forming an eyebrow over some of the first-floor windows. A long, single-storey, 20th-century porch and store room are situated on the front at the right, with a wooden shingle roof. Fenestration consists of two-light timber casements with glazing bars, and one fixed window, with a mix of 19th and 20th-century glazing, although some frames may be 18th century. On the left return, a hipped roof covers a first-floor, 20th-century canted bay window. The rear elevation of the main block features a blocked doorway that formerly gave access to the unheated room.

Inside, the first room on the left features a chamfered crossbeam with run-out stops, and a plank and muntin screen with chamfered muntins including diagonal stops. The screen rises as a framed partition of heavy scantling to the roof apex. There is a partly-blocked fireplace with a bread oven. The roof over the three left-hand rooms is of side-pegged jointed cruck construction. The apex of the roof over the left-hand room was not inspected, but the foot of one of the crucks is visible, extending below the level of the first floor. The roof over the two adjacent rooms has threaded purlins and a threaded ridge, with apparent smoke-staining. The roof over the right-hand room has straight principal rafters, and the former hipped end of the earlier block is visible within the roofspace. The house is a picturesque example of regional architecture with a complex building history.