Cider House Approximately 24 Metres North-East Of Batworthy Farmhouse

SX 78 NW CHAGFORD

4/2 Cider House approximately - 24 metres north-east of Batworthy Farmhouse GV II

Cider house, former farmhouse. C17, rearranged and much altered probably in late C18-early C19 when converted to agricultural use. The earliest masonry of coursed granite ashlar but most has been replaced with granite stone rubble and there is some cob on the wall tops; disused granite stacks; corrugated iron roof (formerly thatch). Plan and development: the building faces east. It contains a cider house with apple store above and a small byre with hayloft over at the left (southern) end. The byre is an addition. The cider house has been made in the remains of the old house. It seems that this was a 3-room-and-through-passage plan house but now only the service end room, the passage and a small part of the hall now survive and all original partitions have been removed. The service end room part has a disused former end stack, now backing onto the added byre and there is the former axial hall stack backing onto the site of the through passage facing the later right (northern) end wall. There is less than 1m between this fireplace and the end wall. The apple loft floor is not the original. There was originally a winder stair rising alongside the service end fireplace but the present stair rises alongside the former hall stack. Exterior: on the front the doorway near the right end is the original front passage doorway but it now contains a C19 doorframe and door. There is a loading hatch to the apple loft a little to the left. Towards the left end is a doorway to the byre with a hayloft loading hatch directly above. The right side of these is the end corner of the original house. The roof is gable-ended to right and half-hipped to left. The rear elevation shows some original features. There is a straight butt join between the former house and byre. At the other end the masonry of the rebuilt end wall returns along this side as far as a window which is blocking the original rear passage doorway. Immediately right of this is a blocked window and then a window on each floor. Just right of these is a small stair window. The byre section has a very small doorway with a slit window to the hayloft. The windows are unglazed with internal shutters. Interior: of the 2 disused fireplaces in the cider house the former hall one is the largest. It is all granite ashlar with a chamfered surround. The former service end room fireplace is granite with soffit-chamfered oak lintel. The apple loft is carried on C17 crossbeams but it seems that these have been reused and the original ceiling raised. A-frame truss roof with pegged lap-jointed collars is late C18-early C19. The cider house has a complete set of cider-making machinery and it is still used. It looks quite early too.

Listing NGR: SX7147585282