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Summary

16th century or earlier longhouse; the house part was rebuilt in late-17th century or early 18th century. Three-room-and-through-passage plan with hall and inner room to left, shippon to right. The shippon is unusual for Dartmoor in not having a stone wall dividing it from the passage, but simply a rough stud partition boarded on the passage side; there is a separate external door to the shippon, but this may be a 19th century insertion.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II*) 1241844: LEY FARMHOUSE

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX77NW77
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 898163
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX77NW/337
• Old Listed Building Ref (II*): 441082

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• LONGHOUSE (Built, XV to Post Medieval - 1500 AD (Between) to 1750 AD (Between))

Full description

South West Heritage Trust, 1838-1848, Digitised Tithe Maps and Transcribed Apportionments (Cartographic). SDV359954.

Ley. Field no 102, 'House and yard'.

Beeson, M. M. R. + Masterman, M. C. H., 1979, An Archaeological Survey of Enclosed Land in Widecombe-In-The-Moor Parish, Vol II, 431 (Report - Survey). SDV337078.

(28/8/1979) Ley was a working farm until 1962. It is still thatched and has a large hearth and porch. There is an old gatepost built into the wall of the shippen. The slit windows of the shippen can still be seen. The present owner thinks the house is approximately 500 years old. A new barn has been built since 1843 and one building has disappeared since that date. The fields of Ley have been amalgamated with Higher Natsworthy.

Department of Environment, 1986, Widecombe in the Moor, 109 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV289221.

Ley Farmhouse. Longhouse. It is 16th century or earlier; the house part rebuilt in late 17th century or early 18th century. Granite rubble. House part thatched; shippen, which has a lower roof-line, part slated, part covered with corrugated iron.
Many features; see List for full details.

Ordnance Survey, 2018, MasterMap 2018 (Cartographic). SDV360652.

Shown on the modern mapping at Ley.

Historic England, 2018, National Heritage List for England (National Heritage List for England). SDV360653.

WIDECOMBE-IN- SX 77 NW THE-MOOR 2/182 Ley Farmhouse -- II*
Longhouse. C16 or earlier; the house part rebuilt in late C17 or early C18. Granite rubble. House part thatched; shippon, which has a lower roof-line, part- slated, part-covered with corrugated iron. Large stone chimneystack (heating former hall) on right-hand gable of house part; plain, projecting course of stones just below the top, forming a cap.
3-room and through-passage plan with hall and inner room to left, shippon to right. The shippon is unusual for Dartmoor in not having a stone wall dividing it from the passage, but simply a rough stud partition boarded on the passage side; there is a separate external door to the shippon, but this may be a C19 insertion.
2 storeys; shippon with loft originally, of which part remains. Single-storey addition at right-hand end. House part is 2 windows wide, all windows having 2-light C19 wood casements with 3 panes per light. Small doorway at left- hand end of ground storey. Both this and the 2 ground-storey windows have projecting granite lintels, chamfered on top to throw off rainwater. Stone entrance-porch with slated pent roof abutting junction of house and shippon; stone seat in left side. Front wall of shippon is set back a little. The door directly into shippon, immediately right of porch, has a re-used granite gatepost for a lintel. Above porch is a loading doorway with plank door having old wrought-iron strap-hinges. At right angles to the right-hand end of shippon is a stone building, possibly a pigsty, with pent roof covered with corrugated iron. There have never been ventilation slits on this side of the shippon, but there are 2 in the rear wall and 3 in the gable wall. The lower part of the rear wall projects at a different angle from the rest of the building, suggesting that the shippon has been partly rebuilt and also heightened. Loft door with old wrought-iron strap hinges at left- hand end.
Interior: former hall has fireplace, possibly of C16, with hollow-moulded granite jambs and lintel; blocked oven at left side having a shallow granite shelf in front. Rounded recess to left of fireplace may have contained a staircase; it is lit by a small window in rear wall. Chamfered upper floor beams without stops. Roof has simple trusses with collars pegged to the faces of the principal rafters; no common rafters, just heavy thatching spars. The back of hall fireplace towards passage is without architectural features.
Shippon has well-made central drain of granite blocks; on each side is a line of stone defining a feeding trough, these having holes on top for tethering posts.
Plain, heavy loft beams. C20 roof timbers.
Listing NGR: SX7231279389

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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