Pioneer House And Stringfellow And Attached Walls, Gate And Railings

Pioneer House and Stringfellow are two houses located on High Street in Chard, dating from the 18th century. No. 119 is constructed of limestone rubble and features a pantile roof, while No. 121 was altered around 1838, is finished in stucco likely over limestone rubble, and has a painted stone plinth, archivolt, sills, and cornice. It has a swept slate roof with a stone ridge and brick stacks at the gable ends. The buildings have a double-depth plan and are two storeys high.

No. 121 has a three-window range, while No. 119 has a single-window range. The street front displays 6/6-pane sash windows with forward frames, and the left return has 20th-century windows and a door. The doorway of No. 121 features an elliptical head and fanlight set within a reeded archivolt that includes a keystone and imposts. On either side are mid-19th-century French windows with margin pane lights. The first floor has a blind window with a plaque above the door, flanked by 6/6-pane sash windows. A moulded cornice supports the gutter, which is connected to a lead hopperhead fixed to the facade of No. 123 on the right.

Inside, the interior has been much altered, but reeded cornices remain in the two front rooms, with the left room embellished with stiff-leaf decoration from 1935 and a mid-19th-century black marble fireplace.

The property is enclosed by a rubblestone wall with stone coping that surrounds the front garden, topped with cast-iron railings featuring an interlacing vertical oval design and finials. There are two-leaf cast-iron gates hung on stone piers with moulded domes, and similar piers are located at the front corners.

Historically, a circular plaque set in the central blind window notes that this was the "Home of the late John Stringfellow, inventor of the aeroplane." He was known for inventing the first engine-driven aeroplane that flew. His memorial is located at the cemetery in Zembard Lane, which is also listed.