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Summary

A rare example of a late 18th, early 19th century double-sided linhay.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1392633: EAST DUNSTER BARN

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS90NW/43
• Old Listed Building Ref (II)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• LINHAY (XVIII to XXI - 1701 AD to 2009 AD (Between))

Full description

Child, P., 1989, Proposed Barn Conversion, East Dunster, Cadeleigh (Correspondence). SDV340738.

A rare example of a traditional linhay constructed on a 'back-to-back' basis. Such linhays were probably not usually constructed as they would have necessitated a double cattle yard and these are not common in Devon.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2008, Cadeleigh (Correspondence). SDV340739.

Notification that East Dunster Barn has been added to the List of buildings of Architectural or Historic Interest.

De-Villiers, S., 2015, Linhay at East Dunster Barn, Cadeleigh, Devon (Report - Survey). SDV359475.

An historic building record of the linhay at East Dunster Farm, Cadeleigh, Devon was prepared by AC archaeology in March 2015 prior to the conversion. The building is a rare example of a traditional open-fronted barn constructed with a back-to-back plan providing two linhays. The building dates to the 18th or early 19th century and is largely intact and unaltered.
The linhays would have been used to shelter livestock with an unusual integral enclosed room probably utilised to house juvenile animals and their mothers or bulls. The first floor throughout the building was used as haylofts.
The building is a rare example of a traditional linhay constructed on a back-to-back basis, with its open sides fronting two yards, and an integral 'enclosed' room at its northeast end. It is aligned east northeast to west-southwest (hereafter simplified as east-west) following the slope of the hill. The hill slopes down to the northeast to a small stream in the valley bottom that now flows into a modern pond. The original farmhouse was located to the northwest of the linhay but this has been demolished and a new farmhouse has recently been constructed to the southwest (Plate 1). All other farm buildings recorded on historic maps have been demolished.
The building has a rectangular plan with a central dividing cob wall, and a separate room at the east end; there were formerly haylofts over both the linhays and the east room. The walls are constructed of red cob on top of a tall red and grey sandstone plinth which is approximately 1.40m high. Here the masonry is laid in rough courses bonded in a pinkish white lime mortar (Plates 2-4). There are remnants of lime plaster on some of the internal walls. The cob has been repaired in several areas; in the east elevation this has been carried out with rubble stonework whilst in the south wall and southeast internal wall this has been executed in brick. There is an area of cement render on the west wall.
The roof structure above of the linhays, along with the former first floors, is supported on five pairs of vertical posts that rise from dressed granite pads. The supporting beams for the first floor are mostly original, dressed rectangular timbers although two in the south linhay have been replaced with unshaped round beams. Those in the north linhay retain a whitewash finish. The beams are attached using tongues that pass through the posts and are secured with two wooden pegs (Plate 5). Where the beams sit in the cob walls the openings are lined with wooden boards (Plate 6). The floor joists of the haylofts above the linhay have been removed but their sockets are visible in the end walls (Plate 7). The listing description provides additional information stating that the north linhay had a closely-boarded upper floor, whilst the south-linhay contained more widely-spaced timbers.
At the time of the survey, the north and south elevations were open; however a photo provided by the owners which was taken in 1989 shows the ground floor of the north linhay, along with one bay above, as being covered with weather boarding. Several thin battens attached to the outside edge of the vertical posts may be associated with this finish (see Plate 5). The weather boarding is unlikely to be an original feature, and may have been a 19th- or early 20th-century addition.
There are no significant surviving fixtures or fittings in the main linhays (Plate 8), though in the south linhay there are wooden battens attached between the floor beams and the partition wall which are indicative of the presence of a manger. Again the listing description provides more information stating that this area formerly contained a trough adjacent to the dividing wall. The listing description also records the presence for six now-removed cow stalls with troughs in the northern linhay. Here the floor beams display scars and nails related to former vertical battens that are probably associated with the stall partitions.
The room at on the east end is accessed via doors in the north and south elevations. The doorway in the north wall has been heightened and has an arched brick head (Plate 9). A remnant of the original, lower wooden lintel survives within the wall to the east, along with what appears to be an upright which is mostly obscured by plaster (Plate 10). The room contains three animal stalls with troughs, all constructed using concrete and concrete blocks (Plate 11). In front of the troughs are steel taps and
trays for providing drinking water.
The first floor of the eastern room is supported on two main horizontal beams running east to west; these are set into the cob walls, and supported in the centre of the room by additional modern posts, formed by two vertically-set wooden railway sleepers with wooden pads on top (see Plate 11). The main beams support north to south aligned joists, again set into the cob wall, but also resting on thin wall plates. Most of these timbers have been reused, and display evidence of peg holes associated with an earlier structure. The first floor would have functioned as another hayloft. There is a loading door in the north wall above the ground-floor doorway. Most of the floorboards are narrow, and machine cut, and are probably early 20th-century replacements (Plate 12). They incorporate a hatch to enable hay to be dropped down to the ground floor.
The building has a hipped roof, the majority of which is currently covered with corrugated metal sheeting, although a large area of clay pantiles survive on the southpitch. It seems likely that these tiles replace an original thatched roof. The roof is supported on seven triangular trusses formed from principal rafters with tie beams at eaves level (Plates 13-14). The latter are set into notches in the top of the vertical posts, and extend beyond the wall line where they support horizontal timbers. The
bases of the principal rafters are set into the tie beams at the junction with the vertical posts. The principal rafters have mortice and tenon joints at their apex, and are braced together with high-level halved collars fixed with nails. These are generally round and undressed timbers. Some of the original back purlins survive, and where visible are joined behind the principal rafters. The roof structure above comprises closely-spaced secondary rafters supporting the battens under the pan tile roof, and more widely-spaced replacement purlins directly supporting the corrugated iron sheeting.

Historic England, 2017, National Heritage List for England, 1392633 (National Heritage List for England). SDV359963.

East Dunster Barn. Linhay. Late C18/early C19.
PLAN: Rectangular plan with a central dividing cob wall down most of its length with a separate room at the north-east end orientated at right angles to the main barn. Double-sided.
MATERIALS: Timber frame with stone, cob and brick walls and a roman clay tile and corrugated iron roof.
EXTERIOR: The two end walls and part of the side walls are constructed of a random rubble sandstone plinth with cob wall above. Red brick has been added in places to the eastern end. The timber frame is constructed of oak posts (five to each side) on granite padstones. The north-east end is a separate room oriented at right angles to the main barn and accessed via an entrance to both sides with an inserted brick arch. The roof is supported on a series of triangular trusses and is covered in a roman clay tile and corrugated iron roof which is hipped at either end.
INTERIOR: A central dividing cob wall down most of its length. The separate room at the north-east end contains three cow stalls and access to the upper floor. The north-west half of the linhay contains six cow stalls with troughs with a closely boarded upper floor with an opening along the length of the dividing cob wall. The opposite half (south east) is open at ground floor with the remains of a trough along the dividing wall, and has widely spaced timbers to its upper floor. The ground floor is a mixture of earth and concrete.
SOURCES: Simon Bastone Associates LTD, Structural Investigation: Barn at East Dunster, Cadeleigh, Devon (April 2007); Robert Ladd, Report of Linhay, East Dunster, Cadeleigh, Tiverton, Devon (February 2007); Letter from Devon County Council dated 31 March 1989 to Mid Devon District Council, Proposed Barn Conversion, East Dunster, Cadeleigh (ref: PC/AC.11.4); Map of the Parish of Cadeleigh in the Country of Devon 1840
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION: East Dunster Barn is recommended for designation for the following principal reasons: * It is a good example of a late-C18/early-C19 double-sided linhay of which few were built * It is substantially intact

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6926 - Building Recording, Linhay at East Dunster Barn, Cadeleigh, Devon (Ref: ACD219/2/1)

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