Dommett Farmhouse, Walls And Gatepiers On South Front

Dommett Farmhouse, dating to 1648, is likely the result of alterations to an earlier building. A west wing was added in the 18th century, and the gable chimney was dated 1748, a probable time of this addition. The farmhouse was restored in 1972-5. It is constructed of roughcast over rubble, with a slate roof, coped verges, and stone stacks; one gable stack and an external ashlar stack with a chamfered cornice dated 1748 at the west gable end. The house has a "U"-plan facing south, arranged around three cells, with a cross passage and an unheated inner room. A north-east buttery and 20th-century additions are at the rear. The two storeys feature four bays on the first floor, with 3-light casements and a datestone between the first and second bays. The ground floor has 4-light, renewed ovolo-moulded mullion windows. The entrance has a gabled porch and a partly glazed door. A small window has been inserted into a former summer fireplace in the gable end of the right return, with a stack projecting beyond on the wing, containing an external ash house opening.

The interior includes substantial imported timberwork, alongside surviving original features. A plank and muntin screen, chamfered and stop-chamfered with run-out stops, divides the cross passage. The kitchen features a cambered lintel above the fireplace, and a bread oven beneath the winder stairs to the right. The rear wall has been rebuilt in brick with a window inserted into the summer fireplace opening, revealing a chamfered beam with scroll stops. A timber-framed partition defines the buttery, with a large blocked chimney opening. The hall has a winder stair to the right of the fireplace, alongside a blocked stairlight, and a 2-light reconstituted stone window within its original frame on the rear wall. A 20th-century partition, in a 17th-century style, includes a framed jointed cruck truss above. A similar partition within the north-west wing contains the imported late 16th-century timberwork. Retaining walls, constructed of random rubble local stone with flat stone coping, enclose the forecourt on the south front, sweeping up to the gatepiers framing a flight of steps. The gatepiers are ashlar Ham stone, square in plan, with a cavetto-moulded cornice and plinth, topped with small obelisks.