Ford Farmhouse

Ford Farmhouse is a substantial farmhouse at Manaton, originally built as a longhouse, probably in the early 16th century. The building was floored around 1600, with a rear wing probably added in the mid to late 17th century. It was remodelled in the 18th century and has undergone various additions and alterations in the 20th century.

The walls are constructed of granite rubble, rendered at the front. The gable end stacks to the main block and the lateral stack to the rear wing are rendered granite with drip-courses. The axial stack to the main block is granite rubble with a moulded granite cap. The roof is covered with asbestos slate, with gables to the left and upper end and to the wing at the rear, hipped to the right hand lower end.

The house has a complex plan reflecting its long structural development. The lower end was originally a shippon (cattle barn) and retains evidence of this in the form of a blocked ventilation slit on the first floor of the lower gable end. The cow standings formerly survived, separated from the through passage only by an insubstantial wooden partition. A separate external door to the lower room on the front wall adjoining the through passage door is typical of the developed longhouse form.

The hall beyond the through passage was originally open to the roof with a central hearth. The inner room adjoins it and originally had a closed truss between it and the hall. When the hall was ceiled and a fireplace inserted around 1600, a newel staircase was inserted at the rear wall of the hall, though this has since been removed, though the curved recess remains. In the mid to late 17th century a rear kitchen wing was added behind the hall. In the 18th century the house was refronted and the inner room given independent access with its own staircase to the room above, making it self-contained. The staircase and adjoining partition to the hall have since been removed. Either at this stage or in the early 19th century a long dairy outshut was added at the rear of the through passage and lower end. In the 20th century a cart shed running parallel to the rear wing from the inner room was converted to domestic use, as was the shippon.

The house is two storeys with an almost regular four-window front. At the upper end of the passage are two and four-light 18th century casement windows with leaded panes. At the lower end are four-light 20th century casements without glazing bars; the first floor centre right window is of two lights. The door to the upper end of the hall (originally the inner room) to the left has an 18th century wooden cornice with a small row of dentils and a 20th century plank door. The door to the through passage at right of centre is probably a late 17th century plank door with two rows of studs, heavy strap hinges and a spy-hole. It is set in a wide chamfered oak doorway with a depressed arch head and is contained in a 19th century rendered gabled porch with built-in seats either side. Immediately to the right is the former shippon doorway, now containing a 20th century glazed door. To the far right is a small single storey projecting 19th or 20th century addition, originally a pig-house, with a large two-light plate glass casement window. The left hand gable end stack projects with offsets. To the rear of the hall is a substantial wing with a massive projecting lateral stack now contained in an adjoining extension. The first floor right hand window on the inner face of the wing is a four-light 18th century casement with leaded panes. Others are 20th century casements. An adjoining wing is single storey.

The interior, despite alterations, retains a number of early features. There are three original smoke-blackened roof trusses over the hall which have been somewhat mutilated by subsequent roof alterations. Evidence from one shows they are jointed crucks with threaded purlins and curved collars morticed into the trusses. The one at the upper end of the hall shows stavore-holes for a partition beneath. At the apex the trusses are morticed with the ridge pole resting in a notch. No original common rafters or thatch survive. The rest of the roof is 19th or 20th century. The through passage is cobbled and the back of the fireplace adjoining it is characteristically constructed of dressed granite blocks with a coved cornice marking the original height of the passage.

The hall contains a very large granite-framed fireplace with a massive granite lintel, slightly cambered, which has a hollow chamfer. There is a rough monolithic jamb to the left. In the right hand side of the fireplace is an oven with a three-centred arched stone opening, stone sides and floor but a brick roof. The room contains three cross beams with broad chamfers and evidence on one of hollow step stops. The window has two-panelled shutters to either side.

The inner room has one roughly chamfered cross beam which has been hacked for plaster. The rear wing contains a straight run framed staircase and one large room which has a very wide fireplace with a chamfered voussoir segmental arch. This is a good example of a substantial 16th century farmhouse with an interesting development pattern and contains in particular two good granite fireplaces, the voussoir arch fireplace being an unusual early example.

The house forms part of an especially interesting and well-preserved farm complex. Linking the house to the stable is a granite rubble garden wall incorporating a mounting block which is climbed from the garden side.