The Fountain Inn

The Fountain Inn is a building of whitewashed rubble construction, originally dating from the 17th century and later altered in the 19th century. It has an L-shaped plan. Originally a single-story building with an attic, later 19th-century alterations have created a two-story elevation to the lower end. The roof is concrete tiled, with a slate roof to one wing. Brick and rubble chimneys are present, the latter heightened in brick on the main range. The north-west elevation, with five bays, is the main façade. A blocked original main doorway, with a small inserted window, is found in the angle with the wing. A later 19th-century main entrance is to the right, featuring boarded doors and an overlight. Boarded doors with barred windows flank the lower end of the elevation, protected by timber lintels. Above these are two large, eaves-facing windows with simple glazing. The rear elevation has five bays, modern windows, and a centrally located door. A section of the rear has an asbestos slated roof. An uphill gable of the main range has a blocked window above a smaller blocked opening. A smaller, slightly lower cross-wing at the upper end features a timber dormer on the southwest side, potentially a rebuild of a 17th-century dormer. A window sits below the dormer and a projecting dripmould indicates a former window location. The gable has a blocked window with a similar drip.

Originally built with a lobby-entry plan, the interior features stop-chamfered spine beams with long tongues, except for one ground floor room in the wing, which has closely spaced, vertically laid beams. A blocked, pointed arched opening is present on the southeast side of the main chimney. A winding stone fireplace and stairs are found on the gable end of the cross-range. The attic leads to the roof space over the main range, which retains A-framed trusses, trenched purlins, semi-dovetailed tenoned collars, and a massive chimney breast. A fine, blocked four-light window with wooden diamond mullions is located on the uphill gable end, and a door once opened onto the loft, removed during 19th-century alterations. The “Buffs’ Room” is accessed by stairs to the right of the entrance and incorporates a tall room with a booth-like seat and buffalo horns. A cellar and dairy, with stone shelves and a baking or smoking oven to the rear, are located below.