The Lodge And The Hermitage And Attached Wall To The Left

The Lodge and The Hermitage are two houses located on Combeland Road, Alcombe, Minehead. The Lodge dates to the 17th century, with alterations in the mid-18th century and subsequent changes. It is constructed of painted roughcast over cob and rubblestone, with a thatched roof, half-hipped to the right. A lateral stack is situated to the rear right, and a brick stack marks the left gable end. The original layout was a two-unit through-passage plan, with a small, mid-18th century rear wing added to the right. The two-storey facade features a two-window range. 18th-century leaded casement windows with 19th-century glazing are present, along with a three-light window to the eaves and a four-light window below on the left range. A 19th-century six-panel door, glazed to the top, is sheltered by a slate lean-to porch in the angle of the set-back range. There is a three-light window on each floor to the right. The Hermitage, attached to the rear right, was built in the early 18th century and is rendered over cob and rubblestone with a thatched, hipped roof and a brick ridge stack. Originally designed with an approximate four-unit plan, it has been remodelled. It is two stories high and features a five-window range, with three- and four-light casement windows with leaded lights set within half-dormers. The ground floor has 19th-century two-light casement windows with small panes, complemented by some 20th-century replacements to the left. A 18th-century six-panel door is situated to the right of centre and is covered by a hipped thatched porch. The interior of The Lodge features chamfered cross beams in both ground-floor rooms. An open fire to the left gable end has a double lintel, chamfered to the front, with ovens on either side. The room to the right shows evidence of a former open fire to the rear. The ground floor has flagstone and brick floors, while some elm boards are found on the first floor. A virtually central staircase, likely repositioned, is approached from the 18th-century rear wing and extends from back to front. Original features include some early 18th-century two-panel doors and later 19th-century planked doors. The first floor displays exposed main rafters with trenched purlins supporting a three-bay roof. The roofspace to the right, constructed in the 18th or early 19th century, has a diagonally-set ridge with purlins resting on the main rafters and random vertical supports to the rafters at the corner. The Hermitage was not inspected. A rubblestone wall, approximately 3 meters high and 30 meters long, is attached to the left of The Lodge. It is reputed that The Lodge began as two cottages and an old photograph indicates the range to the right originally had a central door flanked by leaded casement windows.