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Summary

Former farmhouse dating to the late medieval period with circa early 17th century remodelling and some 20th century alterations. Rendered cob and stone rubble room, over porch timber-framed; slate roof (formerly thatched), gabled at ends. The main block is a 3-room and through passage arrangement lower end (with 20th century subdivisions) to the right, open porch with projecting room over. A rear right wing at right angles to the lower end is a converted farm building, possibly a shippon. The house adjoins Arran Cottage at the right end. Originally an open hall house with some unusual features and high quality interior carpentry and joinery of the 16th and 17th century. A fine house of medieval origins with good interior features; the front lateral stack is an uncommon feature of Dartmoor farmhouses.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II*) 1097809: SEA HILL

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX8NW36
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 899567
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX88NW/170
• Old Listed Building Ref (II*): 85625

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FARMHOUSE (Built, XV to Early 20th Century - 1401 AD to 1901 AD (Between))

Full description

Department of Environment, 1988, Christow, 82 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV308409.

Sea Hill, former farmhouse. Originally a late Medieval open hall house, it was remodelled into a three-room-and-through-passage plan in the early C17th, and further altered in the C20th. Grade II*. Sea Hill, Dry Lane, Christow. Former farmhouse. Late medieval with circa early 17th century remodelling and some 20th century alterations. Rendered cob and stone rubble room, over porch timber-framed; slate roof (formerly thatched), gabled at ends; projecting granite ashlar front lateral stack with granite ashlar shaft.
The main block is a 3 room and through passage arrangement lower end (with 20th century subdivisions) to the right, open porch with projecting room over. Two storeys. Asymmetrical three window front, porch to passage to right of centre formed by a projecting gabled first floor room carried on granite monoliths; lateral stack with rounded bread oven heating hall to left of porch.
Roof structural features with evidence of smoke-blackened rafters. A fine house of medieval origins with good interior features: the front lateral stack is an uncommon feature of Dartmoor farmhouses (Laithwaite). See List for full details.

Ordnance Survey, 2017, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV359962.

Building is depicted on the modern mapping.

Historic England, 2017, National Heritage List for England, 1097809 (National Heritage List for England). SDV359963.

CHRISTOW DRY LANE, Christow SX 35 NW 2/106 Sea Hill 11.11.52 GV II*
Former farmhouse. Late medieval with circa early C17 remodelling and some C20 alterations. Rendered cob and stone rubble room, over porch timber-framed; slate roof (formerly thatched), gabled at ends ; projecting granite ashlar front lateral stack with granite ashlar shaft.
Plan: The main block is a 3-room and through passage arrangement lower end (with C20 subdivisions) to the right, open porch with projecting room over. A rear right wing at right angles to the lower end is a converted farm building, possibly a shippon. The house adjoins Arran Cottage at the right end. Originally an open hall house, the lower end probably always floored but the hall and inner room open to the roof timbers, the inner room floored first with a very deep jetty projecting into the hall stack possibly added before the hall was floored. There are some unusual features to the building : there is no main truss over the hall but framed partitions above the inner room jetty and hall/passage partition. Both framed partitions appear to be sooted on the hall side ; sooted rafters over the inner room indicate that the closed partition here is a secondary feature. The position or the C17 kitchen is not clear; there is no evidence that either the inner of lower end rooms were ever heated but the quality of C17 carpentry in the hall suggests that it did not function as a kitchen at that date.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 3 window front, porch to passage to right of centre formed by a projecting gabled first floor room carried on granite monoliths ; lateral stack with rounded bread oven heating hall to left of porch. 2 C20 timber ground floor windows to left of stack, I to right of porch ; first floor window to left of stack, one to right of porch, one to porch room. Re-sited 2-light mullioned window with cranked heads to the lights on the outer wall of the rear right wing.
Interior: High quality carpentry and joinery of the C16 and Cl7. 3 plank and muntin screens : the screen between passage and lower end said to have been introduced from another house in the parish (Laithwaite) with the doorway altered, the passage/hall screen with diagonal-cut stops and the remains of a doorframe with a cranked lintel. Fine hall, the fireplace with granite jambs and lintel, with a relieving arch of well-cut masonry visible in the room above suggesting that the stack may have been added before the hall was floored ; chamfered stopped axial beam and exposed scratch- moulded joists. The screen at the higher end has chamfered muntins stopped off at hall bench level and is over-sailed by a deep jetty which is separately joisted with chamfered joists. Michael Laithwaite has noted evidence of a sawn-off jetty at the lower end of the hall. The narrow, unheated inner room formerly had a rear doorway, replaced by a window in the C20 and had a stair in the rear left corner (information from owner). The lower end, also narrow and unheated has been subdivided and includes a C20 stair rising from the passage replacing a similar stair further to the rear. At one time there was internal access between the lower end and Arran Cottage. Framed partitions flank the room over the hall with a doorway inserted in the partition above the inner room jetty. Door with rounded head inserted at lower end of hall on first floor (Laithwaite).
Roof: full length not accessible at time of survey (1987). The ridge of the medieval roof (below a later roof) has been sawn off to the lower (right) side of the lower end framed partition which is sooted on the hall side with no convincing smoke- staining on the lower end side, or the right end wall in which the foot of a hip cruck remains embedded. Above the hall the rafters, pegged over the diagonally-set ridge, are sooted and sooted rafters also survive over the inner room, beyond the left hand framed partition.
A fine house of medieval origins with good interior features : the front lateral stack is an uncommon feature of Dartmoor farmhouses (Laithwaite). Laithwaite, M. Unpublished notes on Sea Hill.
Listing NGR: SX8308485438

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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