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Summary

Youlditch house was originally a mid-17th century longhouse, altered in the later 20th century. It is an example of a later longhouse following the traditional plan, but on a small scale.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1326427: YOULDITCH FARMHOUSE

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX57NW/64
• Old Listed Building Ref (II): 92812

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• LONGHOUSE (Post Medieval to XXI - 1540 AD to 2009 AD (Between))

Full description

Department of Environment, 1988, Peter Tavy, 39 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV262006.

Youlditch Farmhouse.
House, originally a longhouse, dating to approximately the mid-17th century, but altered in the later 20th century. Granite rubble walls with an asbestos slate roof, at a lower level over the former shippon, gabled to the right; hipped to the left, with one axial rubble stack.
Plan: a small longhouse with shippon to the left with through-passage at its right end and small hall and inner room beyond. The hall stack backs onto the passage, inner room unheated. Shippon probably extended in the 19th century and converted to domestic use in the later 20th century.
Exterior: two storeys. Asymmetrical two window front with house part to the right and shippon to the left. 20th century three light casements with glazing bars – right end of house is recessed and has small single light 20th century window on ground floor. Stone dripmould above left-hand ground floor window. 20th century porch and part-glazed door in front of passage doorway which is under the lower shippon roof. 19th century lean-to in front of long shippon. At first floor of right gable end is 17th century single granite-framed light. The house is built into the hillside at this end.
Interior: hall has granite-framed fireplace with unchamfered lintel and roughly chamfered jambs. Stone oven in right-hand side. Fairly insubstantial and closely spaced axial beams which are chamfered with traces of straight-cut stops. Slate slab floor. Solid wall between hall and inner room.
This is an example of a later longhouse still following the traditional plan but on a relatively small scale.

Wakeham, C., 2008/9, Watching Brief at Youlditch House, Peter Tavy (Report - Watching Brief). SDV344541.

Watching brief during renovation, a key aspect of which was the lifting of the flagstones. The flagstones lay on a make-up layer of loose silty material containing 40-50% blue-grey slate fragments. Different material underlying specific flagstones is probably the result of relaying or levelling. Although the flagstones were found to underlie the internal kitchen-parlour wall plaster they did not underlie any of the masonry and must, therefore, be contemporary with the first use of the building or later. No dating evidence was recovered to date the laying of the floor slabs. The standing building, however, is probably the first longhouse in this particular position within the farmstead. Youlditch is documented as Yoldedych in 1339.

Sanders, J., 2011, Changing Times for Dartmoor Longhouses, 64-8, photographs (Article in Serial). SDV360398.

Youlditch was built in the 17th century as a traditional longhouse and later increased by piercing through the thick wall at the upper end to form a kitchen (dairy), reached by two steps. Other changes also took place and in 1968 the property appeared in a good state of repair. However, by 1975, it appeared sad and derelict. After a succession of owners and modifications, the new owner in 2003 started a programme of lengthy and extensive repair works, significantly improving the property. No longer a working farm.

Ordnance Survey, 2011, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV346129.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4661 - Watching brief at Youlditch House

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