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Summary

Late medieval longhouse with later additions and alterations. The dwelling house is at the western end of the range with a shippon, now converted, at the eastern end. The range also includes stables and, projecting at right angles from the eastern end of the shippon, a row of pigsties.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II*) 1292907: BOWDEN FARMHOUSE

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX77SW48
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 898207
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX77SW/300
• Old Listed Building Ref (II*): 85236

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• LONGHOUSE (Built, XV to XVII - 1401 AD to 1700 AD)

Full description

Department of Environment, 1986, Buckland in the Moor, 26 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV350073.

Belsey, P. M., 1987, Bowden Farm (Worksheet). SDV283223.

Bowden Farm is situated on the west side of the shallow valley of Ruddycleave Water and sheltered on the east by the high ground of Buckland common. The farmhouse is a 17th century, two storey, stone rubble building with a thatched roof. Two semi-dormer casement windows. Two storey porch with casement window above and flattish arched opening below. Inner door has old wooden frame. Bay outshot on left hand of porch, possible stairs. Barn extension on east with grouted roof.

Brown, M., 1996, A guide to the Parish of Buckland-in-the-Moor, 16 (Monograph). SDV361770.

Bowden late medieval longhouse may have been built by the Woolcott family, who owned the farm in the latter part of the 16th centruy.

Sanders, J., 2011, Changing Times for Dartmoor Longhouses, 47-51, photographs (Article in Serial). SDV360398.

Bowden was farmed from 1950-1996 by the same family, before being sold. The house dates back at least to the 15th century. The cross passage remains and substantial smoke-blackened roof timbers can be seen. Shippon end was converted in part in the late 1700s to create a kitchen with hearth. Remainder of the shippon is not in use by animals. Floor above has not been converted and is used as a store.
In the 18th or 19th century, it's possible the house was extended uphill to form an extra tenement.
1950s fireplace has now been removed to reveal 16th century hearth; Victorian elements in the house have been removed and the interior has been updated and restored.
Farm has retained several substantially built farm buildings, including a cattle shed (cow house), pig's house and threshing barn.

English Heritage, 2013, National Heritage List for England, 1292907 (National Heritage List for England). SDV350785.

BUCKLAND-IN-THE-MOOR SX 77 NW 6/36 Bowden Farmhouse 23.8.55 GV II*
Longhouse. Late medieval with additions. Granite rubble. Slated roof, half-hipped at right-hand end; front slope of roof of house part thatched. Granite chimney with thatch weatherings and tapered top on centre of ridge. Old chimney with thatch weatherings on left-hand gable. C18 granite chimney with attached brick shaft in rear wall, off centre to right.
Plan has through-passage with hall and inner room to left, kitchen and shippon to right; the kitchen clearly occupies one end of the original shippon. Hall fireplace backs on to through-passage; kitchen fireplace is in rear wall. C18 or C19 entrance porch with chamfer over. 2 storey, with single- storey additions. House part is 3 windows wide; C20 wood and metal casements without glazing bars. Entrance-porch is gabled with decorative slate-hanging on the verges; shouldered-head wood inner doorway, probably medieval encased in C19 panels. To left of porch a shallow rectangular projection with pent roof, possibly a former stair turret. Shippon to right has 2 ventilation slits, the left-hand slit blocked to insert kitchen. Lean-to linhay, its posts now infilled with stone rubble, in front of left-hand side of shippon. Projecting at right-angles from right-hand side a range of pigsties.
Interior has preserved its C19 atmosphere remarkably well, with most of the old plaster wall-surfaces; few early features exposed, although these are likely to exist. Roof trusses have short curved feet; roof space not accessible.
Listing NGR: SX7269873673

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

Dwelling is depicted on the modern mapping.

Sanders, J., Feb 1996, Bowden Farmhouse (2nd draft) (Report - Survey). SDV351634.

Measured survey of farmhouse. During the course of the survey a number of features were noted including the varying thickness of the walls, from 0.51 metres to 0.83 metres. The openings generally have timber lintels but the porch has a rubble stone voussoir. The west wall of the porch is not square with the front of the house and there is likely to be a void within the west wall. The porch was re-fronted and the walls and roof raised int eh 18th century. The fascia is clad with Ashburton slate. All the beams are roughly finished. All the fireplaces have modern grates inserted. The 'shadow' of earlier stairs can be seen adjacent to the fireplace in the hall. The present stairs are a later insertion and maybe those referred to as 'new' by Charles Stanbury in 1769. The north wing comprised a dairy on the ground floor with a chamber above. One cruck in the roof appears heavily smoke-blackened, another is lightly smoke-blackened on the west face only.

Sanders, J. + Dallimore, J., Spring 2001, Bowden Farmstead, Buckland-In-The-Moor, 5-11 (Article in Serial). SDV351616.

House constructed of granite rubble with a thatched roof; the shippon end is slated. The roof is now supported on A-frame trusses but one complete raised cruck and part of another survive. Both show evidence of smoke-blackening. Part of the shippon was taken in, in the 18th century, to form a kitchen with a hearth and a stable was added to its end wall. According to the accounts of Charles Stanbury, a builder, the house was repaired circa 1769. Works included new stairs, windows, a new dairy, a new partition against the shippon and a new beam in the stable. The interior was refurbished in the 19th century and in the late 20th century the house underwent extensive restoration.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6187 - Measured survey of Bowden Farmhouse

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