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Summary

A partly ruinous threshing barn of limestone rubble. Probably 19th century. A single-storey, horse-engine house is attached to the north side of the threshing barn.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: ST01NE/23/3

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• BARN (XIX - 1801 AD to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Child, P., 2002, Fenacre Farm, Burlescombe (Un-published). SDV55053.

Visited 11th January 2003. A partly ruinous corn barn of limestone rubble. Probably 19th century. Map object based on this Source.

Ordnance Survey, 2011, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV346129.

Map object based on this Source.

Steinmetzer, M., 2015, Historic Building Appraisal at Fenacre, Farm, Burlescombe (Report - Assessment). SDV360057.

Oakford Archaeology were commissioned by Property Plans Southwest Ltd in August 2015 to undertake an archaeological buildings appraisal at the site of Fenacre Farm, Burlescombe, Devon (ST 0696 1784). The archive and documentary research indicates that the site has been in continuous occupation probably since the late 11th century and that the current house was probably laid out in the late-17th century.

The barn is a substantial structure measuring 19.5m long and is aligned north-west/south-east (Fig. 13, Pl. 19-25). It is situated along the south side of the farmyard, with the remains of further buildings, which were demolished or fell into disrepair in the 20th century, located to the east. Dating to the early 19th century, the building is built of roughly-coursed stone rubble and follows the classic plan of a threshing barn with two large opposing doors centrally placed within the long elevations; a central threshing floor and opposed doorways designed to create a through draught for winnowing. The walls survive to a height of approximately 4.50m, with the west gable 5.25m high and the east gable 7.10m high.

To the east of the north door is a blocked first-floor doorway, suggesting that the eastern half of the barn contained a loft for storage. Processed straw was probably stored in the eastern part of the barn and grain in the loft above. The large window in the western gable and the small slit window in the north elevation provided additional light and ventilation to an otherwise un-storeyed western half. The floor of the barn consisted of a fairly even concrete surface. Although the barn has no surviving datable features it is assumed to be contemporary with the linhay.

A single-storey, round horse-engine house (Fig. 13, Pls. 25) is attached to the north side of the threshing barn. Examination of historic mapping shows no trace of the horse engine house on the 1822 conveyancing map, at which time threshing was presumably still undertaken by hand. The tithe map of 1841 shows the present building as a solid building. We may thus presume that the horse engine house was added in the period after 1822 at a time when mechanised threshing techniques were introduced to the county.

The construction technique and phasing of the elevations is not entirely clear, partly due to poor preservation and the overgrown nature of the remains. Initially the building appears to have been partially open-fronted, with a roof supported on pillars. The open sides were probably infilled with stone rubble shortly afterwards as the horse engine house is represented with solid lines on the 1841 tithe map suggesting solid walls to the roof. The blocked hole for the transmission shaft into the threshing barn is visible in the north wall of the barn.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7213 - Historic Building Appraisal at Fenacre Farm, Burlescombe (Ref: 15-10)

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