Combe Farmhouse

Combe Farmhouse is a former farmhouse with origins possibly dating back to the 17th century, significantly remodelled and partly rebuilt in the late 18th century, with further alterations in the 19th and late 20th centuries. The exterior is whitewashed stone rubble, with a thatched roof, gabled at the ends, and replaced with slate to the rear of the ridge. It features a left-end stack with a brick shaft, and an axial granite stack also with a brick shaft. Originally, the house followed a three-room and through-passage plan (the lower end being to the right), but it was extended to the rear and re-roofed around the late 18th century. This work included rebuilding the rear wall to create rear service rooms and an axial first-floor corridor. A dairy is located behind the inner room, a service room and a dog-leg staircase are behind the former hall, and another service room is behind the lower end room. The lower end has a lower roofline, suggesting possible later alterations.

The front facade is asymmetrical with four windows. A 20th-century porch fronts a wide-panelled 18th-century door with strap hinges, providing access to a through passage positioned to the right of the centre. There are two late 18th or 19th-century timber casements with lights and glazing bars to the left of the door, 20th-century two-light casements to the lower end on the right, and one window above the front door. A plain 18th-century plank door with strap hinges serves as the rear entrance to the passage; a two-light first floor window illuminating the stair retains square leaded panes.

Inside, there are no exposed ceiling beams, suggesting that the ground floor ceilings were replaced in the 18th century. Oak stud partition walls with plaster infill remain between the former hall and the rear service rooms. Good examples of late 18th-century joinery survive, including shutters and cupboard doors with fielded panels, as well as a set of complete two-panel 18th-century doors on the first floor at the higher end. The probable 17th-century hall fireplace survives, featuring a chamfered timber lintel with granite jambs and a brick-lined bread oven with a rounded iron door. A circa 18th/early 19th-century dog-leg staircase with stick balusters and a ramped handrail is located at the rear of the hall. The partition wall to the dairy has been removed. The fireplace in the inner room is likely a late 18th-century addition, incorporating a re-used lintel, while a 19th-century iron grate sits within an 18th-century timber chimneypiece in a first-floor room. The lower end was not inspected during a 1987 survey, but is reportedly plainer, lacking 18th-century joinery details (as reported by the owner). The roof's apex was not inspected, but visible principal rafters on the first floor of the higher end appear to be straight, with trusses said to be pegged collar rafter design. It is an attractive thatched house located on the roadside.