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Summary

16th-17th century farmouse of three-room-and-through-passage plan. The passage and service end collapsted and were rebuilt in 1985. The hall has an axial stack backing onto the passage and a projecting stair turret.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1166308: LOWER HORSELAKE

Other References/Statuses

• National Buildings Record: 29954
• National Monuments Record: SX78NW63
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 510004
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX78NW/202
• Old Listed Building Ref (II): 94582

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FARMHOUSE (Built, XVI to Late 20th Century - 1567 AD (Between) to 1985 AD (Between))

Full description

Greeves, T., 01/02/1984, Lower and Higher Horselake (Personal Comment). SDV240132.

There are proposals to repair and reoccupy this farmhouse which has been empty for some years. In advance of the rebuilding of the lower end (Mercer's third cell), Dartmoor National Park Authority arranged clearance and excavation of this area in September/October 1983. Excavation revealed line of cross passage but found no evidence of heating or domestic occupation of lower room.

Mercer, E., 1975, English Vernacular Houses, 148 (Monograph). SDV336308.

Late 16th century stone house of one storey and an attic. Two cells with signs of destroyed third cell (byre or service rooms) to east. Hall with stack and blocked entrance to eastern room. Wooden partition formerly with bench divides hall and inner room to west, this now very small and possibly rebuilt. Projecting stair turret to north of hall and late south door.

Timms, S. C., 1983, List of Devon buildings in NMR Recorded Buildings Index, London (Un-published). SDV337271.

Corah, M., 1983, Lower Horselake (Plan - measured). SDV352055.

Department of Environment, 1987, Chagford, 40 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV350463.

Lower Horselake: House, former farmhouse. Late C16-early C17, thoroughly refurbished in 1985. Partly whitewashed granite stone rubble with large dressed quoins; granite stocks, thatched roof.
Plan and development: 3-room-and-through-passage plan house facing south-west (onto the road). It is built down a slope with the inner at the uphill, left (north-west) end with a C20 end stack. Hall has an axial stack backing onto the passage. Passage and service end room had collapsed and were rebuilt on the old foundations in 1985. Newel stair turret projecting to rear of the hall at upper end. C20 conservatory to rear of inner room. Without evidence of any earlier structure it seems that the house was built in the late C16-early C17, maybe with the hall floored over from the beginning. The number of doorways on the front suggests that the house was once divided into cottages. Now 2 storeys throughout.
Exterior: irregular 6-window front of C20 oak-framed casements containing rectangular panes of leaded glass, some of the first floor windows with thatch eyebrows over. 3 doorways all contain C20 doors, the right one to the through passage. Roof half-hipped both ends. Similar fenestration to rear.
Interior: all the early features appear to date from the late C16-early C17. The hall has a large granite fireplace with a high oak lintel, soffit-chamfered with cut diagonal stops, and contains a brick side oven inserted or relined in C19. The crossbeam is also soffit-chamfered with straight cut stops. At the upper end of the hall an oak plank-and-muntin screen has chamfered muntins with step stops high enough to accommodate a bench. It contains a crank-headed doorway. At the top of the stairs are 2 small crank-headed doorways to the hall and inner room chambers. The
upper hall screen continued up to roof with large framing. Roof is not accessible although hall truss appears to be an A-frame.
Most of the rest of the house was rebuilt in 1985 although much of the joinery and carpentry in C16 in style. Source: Eric Mercer, English Vernacular Houses (1975), p.148, plate 93.
Before the lower end was rebuilt an archaeological investigation was undertaken. It revealed the line of the passage but found no evidence of heating or domestic occupation. Listed Grade II.

Ordnance Survey, 2013, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV350786.

English Heritage, 2013, National Heritage List for England (National Heritage List for England). SDV350785.

Lower Horselake. House, former farmhouse. Late C16-early C17, thoroughly refurbished in 1985. Partly whitewashed granite stone rubble with large dressed quoins; granite stocks; thatch roof. Plan and development: 3-room-and-through-passage plan house facing south-west (onto the road). It is built down a slope with the inner at the uphill, left (north-west) end with a C20 end stack. Hall has an axial stack backing onto the passage. Passage and service end room had collapsed and were rebuilt on the old foundations in 1985. Newel stair turret projecting to rear of the hall at upper end. C20 conservatory to rear of inner room. Without evidence of any earlier structure it seems that the house was built in the late C16-early C17, maybe with the hall floored over from the beginning. The number of doorways on the front suggests that the house was once divided into cottages. Now 2 storeys throughout. Exterior: irregular 6-window front of C20 oak-framed casements containing rectangular panes of leaded glass, some of the first floor windows with thatch eyebrows over. 3 doorways all contain C20 doors, the right one to the through passage. Roof half- hipped both ends. Similar fenestration to rear. Interior: all the early features appear to date from the late C16-early C17. The hall has a large granite fireplace with a high oak lintel, soffit-chamfered with cut diagonal stops, and contains a brick side oven inserted or relined in C19. The crossbeam is also soffit-chamfered with straight cut stops. At the upper end of the hall an oak plank-and-muntin screen has chamfered muntins with step stops high enough to accommodate a bench. It contains a crank-headed doorway. At the top of the stairs are 2 small crank-headed doorways to the hall and inner room chambers. The upper hall screen continued up to roof with large framing. Roof is not accessible although hall truss appears to be an A-frame. Most of the rest of the house was rebuilt in 1985 although much of the joinery and carpentry in C16 in style. Source: Eric Mercer, English Vernacular Houses (1975), p.148, plate 93. Before the lower end was rebuilt an archaeological investigation was undertaken. It revealed the line of the passage but found no evidence of heating or domestic occupation (Tom Greeves, unpublished).

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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