Kentisbury Barton

Kentisbury Barton

Barton farmhouse, now divided into two occupations. Probably of late 15th or early 16th century origins, remodelled in 1672 (datestone), extended and refenestrated in the 19th century, with 20th century alterations. Built of unrendered stone rubble with a slate roof hipped at the left end. The building features an impressively tall front lateral hall stack with offsets and tapered cap. There is a corbelled-out first floor stone rubble stack at the right gable end and a rebuilt stone ridge stack at the junction of the rear left-hand wing and main range.

The original plan is obscured by later alterations but appears to have consisted of an open hall to the right of the through-passage with a storeyed cross-wing at the lower end. The hall appears to have had a stack inserted before being floored over, presumably when the 1672 alterations occurred. At the same time, a staircase was inserted in the through-passage. The cross-wing was almost entirely rebuilt in the 19th century when two further gable-ended adjacent rear service wings were added, with the centre range recessed slightly so that the rear of the main range resembles an E-shaped plan. Also in the 19th century, the hall was divided into two rooms, and in the 20th century the house was divided into two occupations, the through-passage being converted into an entrance lobby.

The building is two storeys with a five window range. The two windows at the left end are 20th century replacements. To the right are two two-light and one three-light 19th century casements with eight panes per light. Two 12-paned sashes are positioned to the left of a semi-circular arched doorway with rough stone voussoirs; the left-hand sash has a slate drip. The doorway has late infilling to the jambs to narrow the opening. A small stone in the left-hand jamb bears a scratched geometric floral pattern. A three-light casement with three panes per light and a drip is located further right, and at the right end is a three-light stone cavetto mullion window with a hoodmould and datestone over reading R.R. 1672.

The interior has been extensively altered in the 20th century, including the removal in 1935 of the massive hall stone chimneypiece, which had a heavily moulded depressed four-centred arched surround with leaf decoration to the spandrels (a photograph of this survives). A single rough cross ceiling beam, unmoulded, remains. There is an integral window desk to the hall window closest to the through-passage. A single surviving 17th century turned newel belongs to a straight-run staircase in the through-passage. Four 17th century trusses span the hall and through-passage with straight heavy principals and two tiers of trenched purlins; halved and lapped nailed collars are fitted, and the two trusses over the hall have curved ribs nailed to them, indicating that the first floor chamber originally had a barrel ceiling. Some of the rafters have been reused and are smoke-blackened. At the left end of the main range, at right angles to the 17th century trusses, is a single surviving clean truss of the cross-wing roof, arch-braced with soffit chamfers, the stubs of three tiers of threaded purlins, and mortices for two tiers of wind-bracing. The arch-braces of a second truss have been reused to prop the hip of the superimposed roof. The purlins clearly once extended over the rear wing, which was rebuilt in the 19th century.

This was clearly a house of some distinction and retains an interesting plan form in that there appears never to have been an inner room beyond the hall.