Plainsfield Court Farm

The following buildings shall be added to the list:-

ST 13 NE OVER STOWEY PLAINSFIELD

1/10001 Plainsfield Court Farm

II

Farmhouse. C15, remodelled and extended in late C16, C17 and late C19. Built of coursed and uncoursed rubble; Welsh and artificial slate roofs with pantiles to north outshut; C19 brick and older stone stacks. PLAN: Late medieval open hall house on east-west alignment remodelled in late C16 with axial stack inserted against through passage and inserted ground-floor ceiling; lateral stack heating west cross wing projecting to north of parlour end (to right) of 3-unit through-passage plan; later extension further to west, making T-shaped plan; north wing extended in early 19th century and east service wing rebuilt and extended in late C19, when the house was subdivided. EXTERIOR: 2 storeys. 3-window range to front, with late C19 segmental brick arches over 3-light casements and 6-panelled door with C19 brick quoins; C18 brick quoins to left and late C19 brick quoins to right over late C19 one to 3-light casements to first floor. Late C17 porch to left with probably reset and C15 ogee-moulded architrave to doorway, and reset C15 brattished cornice and late C19 4-panelled door internally. The front face of the north wing, to right, has 3-light casements in similar segmental-headed ground-floor surrounds and 3-light first-floor casements with brick quoins; straight joint marks extent of earlier wing; C19 outshot to rear of this, with 2-light casements; the right-hand gable has a reset C15 cusp-headed window. Similar fenestration to rear of main range, with C19 brick architraves and timber lintels. Late C19 left-hand wing, of 2 storeys with 2-window east front and one-window returns, has similar fenestration in segmental-arched brick surrounds. INTERIOR: not inspected but noted as including the following features: smoke-blacked former open hall roof with stop-chamfered detail to 2 arch-braced trusses with windbraces and 2 rows of tenoned purlins; 3 jointed cruck trusses in cross wing projecting to north. Late C16 ceiling inserted into hall, with deeply-chamfered beams dividing it into 16 compartments. C18 staircase with turned balusters. Cross wing has plaster panel over fireplace with date 1665 and Blake family arms (probably to mark inheriting of the house by John and Elizabeth Blake following the death of Humphrey Blake in that year), and elaborately moulded plaster to beamed'ceiling with the area within the 4 compartments being coved; part of this wing was used as service area in C19, when wash boiler installed; former dairy to west end with slate shelving; C18 and C19 joinery, doors and fireplaces. An interesting large house which would repay detailed investigation, the west cross wing being probably original and unusually divided at an early stage in order to provide a form of ante-room to the hall.

Listing NGR: ST1946236599