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Summary

Farmhouse of probable 14th century date, with 14th- and 15th century extensions, 16th- and/or 17th century remodelling and 18th- and 19th century alterations.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II*) 1104575: LOWER BRANSGROVE

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS61SE/70
• Old Listed Building Ref (II*)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FARMHOUSE (Early Medieval to XXI - 1066 AD to 2009 AD (Between))

Full description

Department of Environment, 1988, Winkleigh, 76 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV336028.

Lower Bransgrove.
Farmhouse. Probably early c16 with c17 alterations, extended probably in the c18 with a c19 addition. Rendered cob walls. Hipped thatch roof. Rendered rubble rear lateral stack, 2 axial stacks, one brick and one rendered rubble with brick shaft.
Plan: 3-room-and-through-passage plan, the lower room to the left with a small dairy subdivided off it probably as a later insertion. Hall stack backs onto passage, inner room has gable-end fireplace and lower room has rear lateral stack. It is likely that these fireplaces are all c17 and later insertions and the house originally had an open hall with central hearth. This could not be confirmed however, due to lack of access to the roofspace.
Probably in the c18 an outbuilding extension was added beyond the higher room and a c19 outshut built behind the hall. The house was modernised in early c20 and has been little altered internally since.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 4-window front of circa early c20 2 and 3-light casements. Early c20 plank doors to left and right of centre and one towards right-hand end. Rectangular oven projection to left of centre door.
Interior: the 3 main rooms have boxed in ceiling beams; the fireplaces are boxed apart from that in the lower room which appears to be c19. Roof: 2 pairs of crucks are visible on the 1st floor, also blocked in, with morticed collars. Roof space inaccessible but the roof timbers are likely to be medieval judging from the cruck form.
This house has been little altered since the early c20, is likely to conceal more early features and it retains a traditional exterior.

Child, P. C., 1990, Notes and Proposed Plan of Lower Bransgrove Farmhouse (Un-published). SDV336203.

Lower Bransgrove farmhouse.
The roof has two pairs of arch-braced cruck trusses (open) with chip-carved bosses. Both smoke blackened. On side of a clean arch-braced (open) cruck truss apparently in situ - ie house originally had cross-wing. Lower end is very long and there is a wooden slit window in rear (or is it just one mullion left of a larger window?). Excavation shows a possible drain through gable end though not absolutely certain. Mr French (the owner) will probe further.

Murrin, R. J., 1990, Proposed Improvements, Lower Bransgrove, Wembworthy (Plan - measured). SDV358843.

Department of Environment, 1991, Winkleigh (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV336029.

Lower Bransgrove is upgraded to Grade II*,
Farmhouse. Probably C14, extended late in C14 or early C15, remodelled in C16 and/or C17 and with C18 and C19 alterations. Rendered cob on stone rubble plinth. Hipped thatched roof. Stone rubble axial and rear lateral stacks, heightened in brick.
Plan: Long 5-room and through passage plan, the low end to the right (east). The original C14 house occupied the hall and parlour of the existing house and possibly some of the low end also. Later in the C14 or C15 a short 2-storey cross-wing (left room) was built at the high left hand end. The axial stack backing onto the passage may have been inserted into the hall before it was floored in the late C16 or C17. The low right hand end with its rear lateral stack could have been unheated originally. C18 and C19 alterations include the pantry or dairy and stairs partitioned off at the low end, the axial passage behind the parlour leading to the stairs at the back of the cross-wing and the outshut behind the hall and parlour.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Long asymmetrical 5-window range. Late C19 or C20 2- and 3-light casements with glazing bars, and plank doors to right of centre and at left and right; rectangular over projection on left of centre doorway. Rear elevation has single storey rubble outshut on right with corrugated asbestos roof and large lateral stack and blocked window slit in wooden frame on left.
Interior: Large hall fireplace has high timber lintel with thin chamfer on splayed stone rubble jambs and clay oven. Chamfered axial hall beam, its tops trimmed off and chamfered half-beams at front and back. Similar half beams and mutilated axial beams in parlour. Kitchen has chamfered aney cross beams and large fireplace with cambered brick arch and brick oven.
Room under cross-wing chamber has unchamfered axial beam. Most of the interior joinery is C19 including plank and panelled doors, chimneypieces, staircases and dog-gate. Roof: two of the C14 trusses of the original house survive at either end of hall, they are smoke-blackened full crucks, with square-section blades connected at apex by short yokes to carry missing square-set ridgepiece; large cranked collars with carved bosses of whorl and petal motifs. Purlins and common rafters replaced. Over putative cross-wing one blade of raised cruck with similar short yokes at apex but clean and with chamfered arched brace and mortices for missing wind-braces and tenoned purlins. 3 C17 trusses over low end with straight principals with halved dovetail lap jointed collars (2 collars missing). Other details: LBS Number 90924.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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