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Summary

A complex of four ranges of farmbuildings around a courtyard on the north-west side of West Forde farmhouse, early 19th century.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1325630: FARMBUILDINGS ADJOINING WEST FORDE FARMHOUSE TO NORTH

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS80NE/51/1
• Old Listed Building Ref (II): 96465

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FARM BUILDING (XIX - 1801 AD to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Department of Environment, 1985, Cheriton Fitzpaine, 7 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV46086.

Child, P., 2003, Historic Farm Buildings Group: Annual Conference Devon 19-21 September 2003, Plan (Report - non-specific). SDV351745.

West Forde, which was farm of 153 acres in the Valuation Office Survey, is dominated by a very large cob bank barn which stands about 30 feet high above a yard behind the farmhouse. It is possibly the largest cob bank barn in Devon and shows the adaption of local materials to a type of farm building only introduced into the county in the late 18th century. The barn was previously thatched (Valuation Office Survey). Its 7-bay half-hipped roof is supported on tie beam trusses with double collars. It has opposed double doors on both sides with the threshing floor between reinforced by additional supporting beams. Compass-drawn circles can be seen on the west wall; are these good-luck symbols? Steps now lead down from the barn doors to the yard but these are not original. The barn stands on six segmental stone arches which fronted a 'shippen' in the Valuation Office Survey. On the south end of the barn is a large horse engine house, originally largely open-sided with its roof supported on timber posts. Its roof has subsequently been raised by heightening the walls with crude timber-framing, although leaving the head beam of the engine in place. Was this to accommodate the machinery, especially the threshing machine, listed as being in here in the Valuation Office Survey, by which time an oil engine had replaced the horse engine?
Typical open-fronted Devon lin hays form the north side of the yard. These were also originally thatched. They have roof trusses of a 18th-/ early 19th century type. There are 10 bays in all, one of which is used as a covered entrance to the yard; this appears to be an original arrangement. Some partitioning and infilling has taken place, especially to form the .'pound house with apple chamber over' at the east end of the range where it abutted the cider cellar at the end of the house range. Examples may be seen here of highly vernacular partitions composed of cob sandwiched between laths.
The barn and linhay ranges did not originally join, but the angle between them has been infilled with firstly a stable (4 stall in Valuation Office Survey) attached to the linhay and with similar trusses and then a root house with granary over (Valuation Office Survey). A stable for two horses had also been created in the end bay of the linhay at the time of the Valuation Office Survey. On the south side of the yard there is a slated 19th century range of five pigsties, each with its own door and window. Above them is single windowed compartment, a poultry house in the Valuation Office Survey and still in this use today.

Parker, R. W., 2012, Historic Buildings Survey at West Forde Farm, Cheriton Fitzpaine, Devon (Report - Survey). SDV351277.

West Forde farmhouse is an unusually long and narrow building: if the barn is included with the house, the length of the whole building is approximately 44 metres.

Parker, R. W., 2012, Historic Buildings Survey at West Forde Farm, Cheriton Fitzpaine, Devon (Report - Survey). SDV351277.

Ordnance Survey, 2013, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV350786.

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

Complex of contemporary farmbuildings. Early C19. Cob on rubble footings, some plastered; slate and corrugated iron roofs. 4 ranges of farmbuildings around farm courtyard. The east range, adjoining north end of West Forde Farmhouse (q.v.) is a 2-storey implement store; the north range a linhay; the west range a large barn over a shippon and the south range houses stables with haylofts over. The implement store has doors at each end and a plain unglazed window between with another above. The larger left-hand door has a loading hatch over. The linhay is 11 bays, Alocks Type T1. The left 3 bays have been converted to a granary and most of the ground floor front has been filled with C20 blockwork. The central bay is a carriageway and open to the roof. The barn is terraced into a slope with a shippon in the basement. It rises above a granary to the right and the engine house to left, its roof half- hipped each end. The volcanic rubble basement has 6 segmental-headed arches although 3 in the middle are now blocked. A flight of stone steps lead up to the large barn doorway to the threshing floor. The barn is cob walled with 2 small windows, 1 over the other, at left end. The stables range is volcanic rubble to first floor level and plastered cob above. The ground floor level comprises 4 doors each with a window to the left. The left end stable is larger than the others. There are 3 loading hatches above and the gable-ended roof is slated. All roofs have A-frame trusses with pegged lap-jointed collars and the 6 trusses in the barn sit on tie beams. The plastered interior of the barn has several graffitis, the oldest dated 1838.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6148 - Building Survey at West Forde Farm (Ref: 2012.04)

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