Marshwood Farmhouse

Marshwood Farmhouse is a manor house or grange, dating back to the late 15th century. In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, north-east and north-west wings were added. The hall was ceiled, and plasterwork decoration was applied, with subsequent raising of the front wall, the addition of a porch, and alterations in the 18th century. The roof was reslated in 1883, a rear extension to the north-east wing was demolished in 1955, and the building was restored in the late 20th century.

The exterior is roughcast over rubble, with quoins to the porch. It has asbestos slate roofs, hipped to the right, with decorative ridge tiles. There is a brick stack at the left gable end, a tall brick stack rising from the eaves, and a rebuilt stone stack in the north-east wing. Originally a three-cell plan with an open hall, the house now includes a stair turret and the added wings. The front elevation has two storeys and a 3:1:2:2 bay arrangement. Most windows are C20 casements, except those in the porch and north-east wing. A three-light stone, ovolo moulded mullioned window is within the gabled, full-height porch. Further three-light windows are on the left side, and a set-back wing displays a partial mullioned window under a hood mould with another window opening. Ground floor windows to the left flank a C20 half-glazed door; two further three-light windows are positioned to the right of the porch, with raking buttresses. The ground floor of the wing is masked by later additions. A moulded Ham stone semi-circular headed opening with imposts provides access to the porch, which leads to an interior featuring a reset plasterwork panel said to have originated from Dunster Castle—one depicting an allegorical scene, and another showing the Sacrifice of Isaac. A moulded Tudor arch head doorway leads to a studded plank door with long hinges. The rear elevation showcases two stone, ovolo moulded three-light mullioned windows.

Inside, the porch opens into a compartment ceiling divided by partitions. A moulded frame surrounds the winder stairs with a newel post off the central hall. The north-west wing, now a dairy, contains a plasterwork overmantel with a heraldic device, and a more ornate overmantel on the first floor is said to display the arms of Lane Popham, who carried Thomas Lutterell in 1621. A barrel vaulted bedroom ceiling features plasterwork decoration in the tympana, some of which is concealed in the roof space. It is an interesting and complex building.