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Summary

Building f. Extremely interesting 2-storey timber-framed structure, on sw side of farmyard. Consists of 6 open bays formed by vertical oak posts, supporting a collar-braced roof. The wall posts appear to have been originally supported upon tall breccia blocks. There are the remains of a first floor, supported on beams which tenon into and through the wall posts, and are secured with pegs. The joists have largely been removed. The roof of the building is in an excellent state of preservation. The collars are halved onto the principal rafters, which tenon together at the apex to support a diagonally set ridge tree. The common rafters survive throughout, supported on 2 sets of purlins and reinforced by a single surviving straight wind brace. The roof is half-hipped at its se end, and hipped at its nw end. This does not appear to be an alteration; a larger opening may have been required at that end of the building to allow it to be loaded through its se gable.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1224546: LINHAY ABOUT 45 METRES NORTH WEST OF PINBROOK HOUSE

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX99SE/151/4
• Old Listed Building Ref (II)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• LINHAY (XVII to XVIII - 1601 AD to 1800 AD)

Full description

Parker, R. W., 1997, Archaeological Recording at Pinbrook Barns, Pinhoe, 2; Building F (Report - Assessment). SDV355161.

Building f. Extremely interesting 2-storey timber-framed structure, on sw side of farmyard. Consists of 6 open bays formed by vertical oak posts, supporting a collar-braced roof. The wall posts appear to have been originally supported upon tall breccia blocks. There are the remains of a first floor, supported on beams which tenon into and through the wall posts, and are secured with pegs. The joists have largely been removed. The roof of the building is in an excellent state of preservation. The collars are halved onto the principal rafters, which tenon together at the apex to support a diagonally set ridge tree. The common rafters survive throughout, supported on 2 sets of purlins and reinforced by a single surviving straight wind brace. The roof is half-hipped at its se end, and hipped at its nw end. This does not appear to be an alteration; a larger opening may have been required at that end of the building to allow it to be loaded through its se gable. Throughout the building the joints are secured with both pegs + nails, and the carpenters marks + numbering are exceptionally clear and complete. The carpentry details and construction are again consistent with a date in the late 17c/early 18c. The original function is unclear. Probably used for the storage of material which required good ventilation. Possibly a kind of dutch barn for storage of hay, or perhaps a shed for drying and seasoning of timber, which could be loaded in long pieces through the se end, avoiding the wall posts. At a later date the interior of the ground floor appears to have been partially enclosed by a cob wall built within the line of the wall posts, possibly to convert it into a linhay. It is unlikely to have swerved as a linhay originally, since it would have afforded little shelter. Some of the cob wall survives at the nw end of the building, though much was replaced in the early 20c with brick. Later still, a flat canopy was added to the sw side of the building, and the original (thatched?) roof was replaced by corrugated iron (parker).

Leverett, M. + Manning, P. + Allan, J., 2011, A Guide to the Archives of Archaeological Projects Carried Out In Exeter, 1970-90: Part I (Report - non-specific). SDV347114.

Building recording took place at Pinbrook House and barns in 1977 and 1996. Other details: Archive no 230.

Leverett, M. + Manning, P. + Allan, J., 2011, A Guide to the Archives of Archaeological Projects Carried Out In Exeter, 1970-90: Part II (Report - non-specific). SDV347115.

Other details: EA site no 230, figure 4.

Historic England, 2015, National Heritage List for England (National Heritage List for England). SDV358087.

Linhay about 45 metres north west of Pinbrook House.
Late C17/early C18 with a C20 addition on the south side. Framed construction with a corrugated iron roof, replacing thatch. Plan: The linhay is of 6 bays, open-fronted on both sides. The western most bay is narrower than the others and the eastern most bay has been truncated. Some of the bays have been divided by modern concrete block divisions, but this has interfered little with the original structure. The open front on the south-west side gave cattle access to the stream. Exterior: The posts on the north-east side sit on Heavitree stone pads, the south-west side pads have been replaced with concrete. Interior: The loft tie beams are chamfered with runout stops and most of the original joists and wide oak floorboards to the loft survive. The loft floor has been removed in the third bay from the left. Roof: A-frame trusses, each with an X-apex, the ridge diagonally-set. The principal rafters slotted into the tops of the posts and held with pegs. The slightly-cambered collars are lap-jointed to the principals and fixed with pegs augmented with nails. The purlins rest on the backs of the principal rafters and are held in place against wedges knocked into the principals but projecting from them. The original rafters survive throughout, fixed to the ridge with long project- ing pegs. The linhay is important as an unusual example of a type of agricul- tural building confined to the south west. Sources: Measured drawings (December 1977) of the building by J R L Thorp are in the Exeter Archaeological Field Unit archive.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6725 - Building Recording at Pinbrook Barns (Ref: 97.14)

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