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Summary

5 East Street, Ashburton; the Royal Oak. Late medieval construction with a post medieval rear wing added. This building was probably originally a house with a two-room and cross passage plan with an open hall at the western end. During the Civil War, soldiers were billeted here and finds from this period have been made.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II*) 1282914: ROYAL OAK PUBLIC HOUSE

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX76NE66
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 1431403
• Old Listed Building Ref (II*): 376007

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• HOUSE (Built, XV to XIX - 1450 AD (Between) to 1900 AD (Between))
• PUBLIC HOUSE (Altered, Early 20th Century to Late 20th Century - 1901 AD (Between) to 1990 AD (Between))

Full description

Department of National Heritage, 1992, Ashburton, 31 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV337041.

Ashburton - East Street (north side) No. 5 Royal Oak Public House - GV II*
Public House, probably a house originally. Late medieval with added rear wing of 19th century or earlier. Roughcast solid front wall; side walls, and probably front and rear walls of stone rubble. Slated roof. Left gable has stepped stone coping with base of stone chimney on ridge. Right gable has 19th century red-brick chimney.
Two rooms wide and one room deep (the medieval plan); ground floor rooms now combined. Right-hand room possibly a former open hall, later rear wing to right. Two storeys, two windows wide. Late 20th century metal and wood casements. 19th century door to left with flush lower panel and brass letterbox; upper part probably glazed originally. Ground floor right has chamfered and step-stopped beam, probably inserted in the 16th/17th century. Upper floor left gable wall has late medieval/early post-medieval corbelled fireplace (now plastered over). To rear, in angle with rear wall, a rounded recess (probably a former garderobe; cf. No.33 North Street, demolished 1970). Front roof has almost complete original trusses and purlins, 4 arch-braced trusses (including 2 gable-trusses); slightly cambered collars, plain arch-braces with open spandrels, butt-purlins, ashlar-posts (1 sole-plate visible). The two middle trusses have lost their collars and braces; that to the west has lost one principal rafter. Tie-beam truss in centre with wattle and daub on the east side. Some blackening; not certainly blackening from open hearth. In rear backyard wall a late-medieval/early post-medieval stone corbelled fireplace (probably re-set) placed high up.

Quick, T., 1992, Dartmoor Inns, 102-3 (Monograph). SDV359976.

Dates back to the 14th or 15th century and has been an inn for at least 300 years. It has been enlarged over the years with the acquisition of buildings to the rear of the inn. The exterior walls of those buildings have since revealed several old fireplaces dating from medieval times. In June 1990, during renovations to the roof, builders discovered a series of medieval arch-braced roof trusses, as well as many interesting objects dating from the late 17th century. During the Civil War, General Fairfax and his troops were billeted at Ashburton before engaging in the Battle of Heathfield. The General stayed at The Mermaid In, now 'A. R. Church' (ironmongers) in North Street, whilst some of his men were billeted at the Royal Oak. The inn has an oak-beamed public bar and restaurant, and the end wall is exposed stone and has an open fireplace. Until the flood prevention work was carried out in the town, the ground floor of the inn sometimes flooded to a depth of up to 3 feet.

Webb, P., 1995, The Pubs and Inns of Ashburton, 37-40 (Monograph). SDV347208.

Royal Oak, East Street.
Early travellers' inn with a history of over 300 years of trading. Records from 1823 throughout the 19th century. History of the inn detailed.

Thorp, J. R. L., 1998, The front wall of the Royal Oak, 5 East Street, Ashburton, 3-7 (Report - Assessment). SDV347224.

The front of the building is built from local granite and slatestone rubble faced up by neatly coursed granite ashlar and proved to be largely medieval in date. The exposed medieval features enabled an interpretation of the form and layout of the medieval house, the rear wall of which has been demolished and a post-medieval extension added. Originally there was a tall window to the west of the front elevation that extended into the first floor level, indicating there was originally a hall open to the roof at that end of the building. At the eastern end of the building, there were originally windows on the ground and first floor levels, proving this section must have had two-storeys.
This is an interesting town house of the late medieval (1450-1550) period, with a 2-room and cross passage plan, the open hall heated by an open hearth fire and a lower end chamber (probably over a ground floor shop) with its own fireplace and medieval garderobe. The exposed timbers of the roof show an unusual form in that it is not part of the Devon vernacular cruck tradition and has no ridge.

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

English Heritage, 2011, National Heritage List for England (National Heritage List for England). SDV347072.

Public House, probably a house originally. Late medieval with added rear wing of 19th century or earlier. Roughcast solid front wall; side walls, and probably front and rear walls of stone rubble. Slated roof. Left gable has stepped stone coping with base of stone chimney on ridge. Right gable has 19th century red-brick chimney. Two rooms wide and one room deep (the medieval plan); ground floor rooms now combined. Right-hand room possibly a former open hall, later rear wing to right. Two storeys, two windows wide. Late 20th century metal and wood casements. 19th century door to left with flush lower panel and brass letterbox; upper part probably glazed originally. Ground floor right has chamfered and step-stopped beam, probably inserted in the 16th/17th century. Upper floor left gable wall has late medieval/early post-medieval corbelled fireplace (now plastered over). To rear, in angle with rear wall, a rounded recess (probably a former garderobe; cf. No.33 North Street, demolished 1970). Front roof has almost complete original trusses and purlins, 4 arch-braced trusses (including 2 gable-trusses); slightly cambered collars, plain arch-braces with open spandrels, butt-purlins, ashlar-posts (1 sole-plate visible). The two middle trusses have lost their collars and braces; that to the west has lost one principal rafter. Tie-beam truss in centre with wattle and daub on the east side. Some blackening; not certainly blackening from open hearth. In rear backyard wall a late-medieval/early post-medieval stone corbelled fireplace (probably re-set) placed high up. Other details: Listed Building number: 376007.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV5043 - Recording of front wall of Royal Oak, Ashburton

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