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Summary

A 16th century and 17th century farmhouse, refurbished and enlarged in the mid - late 19th century.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1168842: UNDERDOWN FARMHOUSE

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FARMHOUSE (XVI to XIX - 1501 AD to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Foster, K. + Skinner, R., 01/2016, A30 to A303 Honiton to Devonshire Inn Improvement Scheme, Honiton, Devon (Report - Assessment). SDV359378.

DBA undertaken along a corridor associated with the A30/A303 between Honiton and Devonshire Inn. This study is intended to inform the development of options for improvements to the A30/A303 between Honiton and Devonshire Inn.

During the medieval period the principal settlement would have been at Rawridge which as previously noted dates from the Anglo-Saxon period. Dispersed farms would have existed amongst the fields, some of which are still the sites of farmsteads. An example with a history of settlement dating back to the medieval period is Underdown Farm, also with a 16th-century farmhouse.

Devon and Somerset County Councils, 2000-2002, Historic Farmsteads Database, BH195H (Machine readable data file). SDV349681.

No information supplied.

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

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

Underdown Farmhouse.

Farmhouse. 16th century and 17th century, refurbished and enlarged in the mid - late 19th century. Local stone and flint rubble; with some cob; stone rubble stacks topped with 19th century and 20th century brick; thatch roof. Plan and development: 4-room-and-through-passage plan house built across the hillslope facing west-north-west, say west. At the left (south) end is an unheated service end dairy which has a spring under the floor. The other side of the passage is the hall with an axial stack backing onto the passage. Right of centre is the inner room (now used as the kitchen) and at the right end a parlour. There is an axial stack between these 2 rooms serving back-to-back fireplaces. Originally this was a 2 or 3-room-and-through-passage plan house. The right end parlour was added in the mid - late 19th century. Since most of the roof structure has been replaced it is not possible to determine the early development of the house although it seems likely that it began as some form of open hall house. The hall stack is probably mid -late 16th century and the hall was probably floored over in the early or mid-17th century. There is a solid crosswall between the hall and inner room and it may be that the inner room is an addition. It appears to have been built (or rebuilt) as a parlour in the mid - late 17th century. At this time the hall was made into the kitchen. The mid - late 19th century parlour has a former cheese loft over. The house is 2 storeys and there is a 19th century wash house and woodshed outshot to rear of the passage. Exterior: regular but not symmetrical 5-window front of mostly mid - late 19th century casements with glazing bars. There are a couple of older casement windows containing rectangular panes of leaded glass on the left and rear. The first floor window at the right end is removeable in order that the opening could be used as a loading hatch for the cheese loft. The passage front doorway is left of centre and it contains a 19th century part-glazed plank door behind a 20th century gabled porch. Towards the right end there is a secondary lobby entrance which contains a late 19th century 1-panel door behind a 20th century porch. Close by the left end is an opening at ground level from which issues the stream from the spring under the dairy floor. The roof is half-hipped each end. Interior: the passage floor is laid with 19th century bricks. No early carpentry is exposed in the passage or dairy. The hall has a large fireplace with Beerstone ashlar jambs and chamfered oak lintel. The crossbeam is hollow-chamfered without stops. In the inner room (the kitchen/former parlour) the fireplace is blocked and the axial beam is chamfered with exaggerated scroll stops. The roof was not available for inspection at the time of this survey but most seems to be made up of A-frame trusses. One boxed in truss, however, could be a jointed cruck. This is an interesting and attractive multi-phase farmhouse.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6910 - Desk Based Assessment, A30/A303 Honiton to Devonshire Inn Improvement Scheme, Honiton, Devon (Ref: 111160.01)

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