Gauth House

Gauth House is a farmhouse, now a dwelling, dating from the late 16th to early 17th century. It was enlarged in the early 18th century, with the roof raised and windows replaced. Further internal alterations occurred in the early 20th century, followed by a west front extension and window insertion in the late 20th century.

The house is built of roughcast over cob and rubble, with slate roofs. The north end has a higher, independently roofed extension with an external roughcast stack to the right gable. Originally a 3-cell plan with a cross passage, the house was later enlarged with a staircase and parlour at the north end. The entrance was initially on the east front, later moved to the west front.

The east front has two storeys and a 3:3 bay arrangement, with a long, irregular frontage to the left three bays. First-floor windows are 16-pane sashes, some flush with the facade, while the right-hand windows are 12-pane sashes. Ground-floor features include an asbestos slate roofed lean-to, a 16-pane sash window to the left of the entrance, a similar window to the right, and a further 16-pane sash window in the extension. The extension also features a two-window elevation framing an early 19th century gabled wooden porch with a fluted entablature and three-quarter glazed double doors. A plank door leads to the through passage.

Internally, the room to the left of the passage was formerly the kitchen, now a store, with a copper to the right of a fireplace. A roughly arched opening leads to the left, and a dairy or larder extension projects to the west front. To the right is the current kitchen. The parlour in the north extension has a notable early 18th-century shouldered chimney piece with egg and dart moulding and volute finials, potentially crafted by the same artisans who worked at West Coombe Farmhouse. Window shutters are also present with raised and fielded panels.

The rear elevation fronting the road was reportedly unlit until a window was inserted into the kitchen around 1964, although blocked windows may exist beneath the roughcast. The house exemplifies the local carpenters’ craft.