The Old Armoury, Boundary Railings And Rear Outbuilding

THE OLD ARMOURY, BOUNDARY RAILINGS AND REAR OUTBUILDING, NORTH STREET, SOMERTON

A townhouse probably dating from the late 18th century with 19th-century additions and modifications, also known as Jacob's Well. The house is built of local lias stone, cut and squared, with a clay pantile roof between coped gables. There is a brick stack to the right-hand end and a rebuilt axial stack at bay three.

The principal range is of two storeys and four bays. The main elevation fronting North Street features sash windows of sixteen panes in plain openings with dovetailed stone lintels in bays one to three. Bay two contains a 20th-century doorway set in a deep recess, while bay four has a tall three-centre arched opening with double boarded doors and no window above. This arrangement incorporates a passageway behind the double doors which gives access directly to the rear courtyard and garden.

The rear elevation of the main range has been extended with a single-storey outshut in keeping with the rest of the building. The weatherboarding to the rear of the carriage arch has been renewed and a sash window was inserted above the archway in the early 21st century.

At right angles to the rear is an attached former stable range, added in the 19th century. This rear wing now incorporates the space formerly known as Jacob's Well, a separate dwelling created circa 1962. It features early 21st-century timber casements to its south elevation and rear gable end; a window in the west elevation marks the position of a former doorway.

The interior of the ground floor contains a central hallway with moulded doorcases and panelled doors. The principal rooms to the front retain picture rails dating from the second half of the 19th century, though the fireplaces have been replaced. Beyond the original rear wall are the former stable range and a 20th-century lean-to addition housing a single room. The stair is enclosed, with plain newel posts and plain stick balusters to the first-floor landing. First-floor doors are four-panelled examples similar to those on the ground floor, with slender moulded surrounds.

The roof timbers of the main range comprise A-frame trusses, some with collars, and single purlins. The smaller ground-floor room in the rear wing has a fireplace with a stone lintel. The roof structure to the upper floor is steeply pitched with trusses formed from principal rafters, tie beam and single purlins.

The front boundary is marked by iron railings with bud finials, matching gates, and set into a low stone kerb. The railings extend beyond the carriage arch with short returns to the building.

In the rear garden stands a detached outbuilding, possibly a barn, built of materials similar to the house. It has a wide plank door with reused strap hinges and a two-light window to its north elevation. There are no internal divisions to the building and the roof is of machine-cut timber.

The house is believed to be depicted on an 1806 map of Somerton. Historical sources indicate that G Company of the 3rd Voluntary Battalion of Prince Albert's Somerset Light Infantry was stationed at the house for a number of years from 1894. The townhouse presents a good late 18th-century composition with pleasing proportions and little alteration to its principal elevation.