Town Barton

Nos 1 and 2 Town Barton

Two cottages formed from what was originally a single farmhouse, dating to the late 16th century or earlier with major 17th-century improvements. The building was modernised in the late 19th century when it was divided into two cottages. Construction is of plastered cob on stone rubble footings with granite stacks topped with 20th-century brick, and a slate roof that formerly had thatch.

The L-shaped building contains two cottages. The main block faces east onto the village green and is built across the hillslope with a 4-room-and-through-passage plan. At the right end is a former inner room with a projecting gable-end stack. The hall contains a large axial stack backing onto the passage, and there is an axial stack between the two service end rooms. A short rear block projects at right angles to the rear of the inner room, overlapping the hall, with its own gable-end stack. No. 1 now occupies the former inner room and rear block with a through-passage inserted in the inner room. No. 2 occupies the hall, passage and service end rooms, with the rear passage doorway now blocked. The roof structure has been replaced, so evidence of early development is limited, but the building was likely originally an open hall house. The hall stack and lower passage screen date to the 16th century, while the hall was floored in the mid 17th century when the walls were raised with a new roof and the second service end room was added. The dates of the inner room and service end fireplaces are uncertain. The rear block is 17th century. Both cottages are two storeys.

The exterior shows an irregular 4-window front of 20th-century casements, most with glazing bars though the latest lack them. The doorway to No. 1 is towards the right and the doorway to No. 2 (the passage front doorway) is left of centre, both with 20th-century doors and low flights of stone steps. The roof is gable-ended.

Internally, the only 16th-century features visible are the lower passage screen and hall fireplace, both in No. 2. The former is an oak plank-and-muntin screen, while the latter is a large granite ashlar fireplace with a hollow-chamfered surround, hooded on the right side. It contains a 19th-century cloam oven and there is probably a 19th-century cream oven close by in the front wall. The mid 17th-century crossbeams are unusually narrow with soffit-chamfered profiles and bar run-out stops. The fireplace in the service end of No. 2 is blocked, and the outer service end room has a large plain-chamfered axial beam. The inner room in No. 1 shows only the result of late 19th-century refurbishment with no visible carpentry and a blocked fireplace. The rear block has a chamfered crossbeam with one step stop, and the lintel of the granite ashlar fireplace here is hidden. The roof of the main block is carried on a series of A-frame trusses with pegged lap-jointed collars and dovetail-shaped halvings. Nos 1 and 2 Town Barton form part of a group of attractive listed buildings that contribute to the picturesque village centre.