See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

Chamberlains Farmhouse dates from the C16 and was originally a three room, cross passage house. It was refurbished in the late 18th-early 19th century and modernised circa 1980. The adjoining stable range has been converted and is now a separate property, Willow Barn.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1307015: CHAMBERLAINS FARMHOUSE

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FARMHOUSE (Built, XVI to XVII - 1501 AD to 1700 AD (Between))

Full description

Department of Environment, 1988, Uplowman, 151 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV338496.

Chamberlains Farmhouse. Farmhouse. C16 and Cl7 with a late C18 - early C19 refurbishment and thorough modernisation of circa 1980. Plastered cob on stone rubble footings; stone rubble stacks topped with C19 and C20 brick; thatch roof.
Plan and development: originally a 3-room-and-through-passage plan house facing west-south-west, say west, and built down the hillslope. Downhill at the right (south) end is a small unheated inner room, probably a former dairy. The hall has an axial stack backing onto the site of the passage. The service end room has a disused rear lateral stack.
Since the original roof has been replaced it is not possible to determine the early development of the house. Nevertheless it seems clear that the original house was some kind of open hall house, maybe heated by an open hearth fire. The chamber over rthe inner room jetties into the formerly open hall. The hall was floored over in the early or mid C17. At this time the hall was probably used as a kitchen and the service end room was a parlour. In the late C18 - early C19 the roof was replaced probably at a higher level than the original. Since then the passage front doorway has been blocked and the passage lower partition removed. Circa 1980 a rear block built to rear of the former passage and it contains the present entrance hall and staircase. House is 2 storeys.
Exterior: irregular 3-window front of C20 casements with glazing bars. Roughly in the centre the oven housing projects from the hall fireplace. The window immediately left of this is blocking the passage front doorway. The roof is hipped to left and gable-ended to right.
Interior: the exposed C16 and Cl7 carpentry detail is largely confined to the former hall. The stone rubble fireplace here has a replacement oak lintel. At the upper end there is an oak plank-and-muntin screen, the muntins chamfered with cut diagonal stops. This may be an original low partition screen. There is evidence here for the inner room chamber jettying into the hall. The hall ceiling crossbeams have deep soffit-chamfers with step stops. No carpentry detail is exposed in the service end and the fireplace here is blocked. Roof of late C18 - early C19 A-frame truss with spiked and pegged lap-jointed collars and X-apexes.

Historic England, 2017, Chamberlains Farm and Willow Barn, Whitnage, Tiverton (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV360221.

Notification of an application to amend the List entry for the building.

Historic England, 2017, Chamberlains Farmhouse and Willow Barn, Whitnage, Tiverton, EX16 7DT (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV360237.

Historic England is currently considering whether the war memorial has special architectural of historic interest and have completed a consultation report which sets out the factual information of the site upon which they will base their decision.
History
Chamberlains Farmhouse and Willow Barn are two individual properties which were formerly a farmhouse with attached stable range. The farmhouse dates from the C16 and was originally a three room, cross passage house.
The stable range attached at the southern end, now known as Willow Barn, was previously a stable range for the farm, appearing in its present form to date largely from the early C20.
It has been converted to residential accommodation and retains no features of particular historic note. See report for full details

Historic England, 2017, Chamberlains Farmhouse, Whitnage, Tiverton, Devon (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV360360.

Notification that the List entry for Chamberlains Farmhouse has been amended.
Chamberlains Farmhouse was listed at Grade II in 1988, and is a good example of a three-room,
cross-passage house in Devon. It retains a high proportion of its original fabric, including cob walls and substantial timbers within the house, including a plank and muntin screen. Its plan form, although altered, can still be understood at ground floor level, allowing an understanding of the way that this type of house was used, and the function of individual spaces. Later alterations over the centuries can be traced through surviving fabric and character, and the building presents a good example of its type. This review of the listing has allowed us to consider the special interest afresh, and confirms that the building very clearly merits its place on the List.
The stable range attached to Chamberlains Farmhouse currently forms part of the listing, and the main consideration of this assessment is whether or not the stables, now known as Willow Barn, should remain included within the listing. Buildings attached to the southern end of Chamberlains appear on the tithe map of 1841, but the present single range does not appear on mapping until the mid-C20. The stable was converted to a separate residential dwelling in 2016. This was carried out with the benefit of listed building consent, and was done in a sensitive manner so as to retain as much of the historic character of the building as possible. Nevertheless, it did involve the rebuilding of some sections of walling, and the complete replacement of the roof structure. The interior of the range is now entirely modern. What survives externally - sections of rubble stone walling with brick quoins - is of an attractive character, but is not of special interest in its own right.
After examining all the records and other relevant information and having carefully considered the
architectural and historic interest of this case, the criteria for listing remain fulfilled. Chamberlains Farmhouse should remain listed at Grade II, and Willow Barn should be excluded from the listing.
See report for full details.

Ordnance Survey, 2017, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV359962.

Historic England, 2017, National Heritage List for England, 1307015 (National Heritage List for England). SDV359963.

Chamberlains Farmhouse
Summary of Building
A multi-phase farmhouse dating originally from the C16. The attached former stable range to the south is excluded from the listing.
Reasons for Designation
Chamberlains Farmhouse, a multi-phase house dating originally from the C16, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: as an example of a three-room, cross passage Devon house with surviving evidence of the original floor plan; for the survival of a significant proportion of historic fabric; for the quality of the surviving internal plank and muntin screen, with jettied floor above.
* Historic interest: the building possesses considerable historic interest as an example of its type, showing evolution over time from a single storey dwelling open to the roof, to later inserted upper floors.
History
Chamberlains Farmhouse and Willow Barn are two individual properties which were formerly a farmhouse with attached stable range.
The farmhouse dates from the C16 and was originally a three-room, cross passage house. When first built, the house probably had a hall which was open to the roof, perhaps with an open hearth fire and a small inner room adjacent to this, with the service end on the other side of the passage from the hall. A plank and muntin screen survives in the hall, separating it from the inner room, and there is evidence above the screen for a floor jettying out into what would then have been the open hall. This suggests that the inner room at least was floored over before the hall itself, with the upper room being reached by a ladder from the hall.
In the early or mid-C17, the hall was floored over creating an upper storey of accommodation within the house. Over the following years, the floor plan has been altered and the building extended. The roof is thought to have been replaced in the late C18 or early C19, and around 1980 an extension was added to the rear which contains the present stair. One end of the cross passage is now blocked; this appears to have happened in the second half of the C20.
The stable range attached at the southern end, now known as Willow Barn, was previously a stable range for the farm, appearing in its present form to date largely from the early C20. Buildings in this location appear on the tithe map of 1841, but the present single range does not appear until the mid-C20. At the time of the tithe map, the farm appears to have been known as Long Thorne, and was described as consisting of farmhouse, barn and yard. Chamberlains at this time appears to have been the name of a pair of cottages to the north.
In 2016, the stable range was converted to a separate domestic dwelling at which time it was partially rebuilt, and the roof structure replaced. Now known as Willow Barn, this range is excluded from the listing.
Details
A multi-phase farmhouse dating originally from the C16. The attached former stable range to the south is excluded from the listing.
MATERIALS: the farmhouse is constructed of cob, rendered under a thatched roof.
PLAN: the farmhouse is orientated roughly north - south.
EXTERIOR: the location of the original door into the cross passage can be seen on the west elevation, to the left of the projecting bread oven housing, where there is now a single small window. Three larger windows on the ground floor, one to the left of the original door and two to the right, denote the locations of the service room, hall and inner room within. There are three small first floor windows, one with an eyebrow dormer. The roof is thatched and is hipped to the north and gabled to the south, with a single chimney stack above the hall fireplace. At the southern end is a lean-to extension with a tall window lighting what is now a living room; this was previously a stable with hay loft above.
To the east, there is a projecting extension at the southern end and a lean-to, slate roofed extension at the northern end. Between these is a three-light window at ground floor level and two casement windows with eyebrow dormers at first floor window, either side of the slate roofed extension.
INTERIOR: the farmhouse is now entered from the southern end, where the previous inner room has been subdivided to form a hall and utility room, with the former stable and tack room to the south with large, repositioned beams from the former hay loft. There is a plank and muntin screen which divides the hall from the inner room; the muntins are chamfered with cut diagonal stops on both sides. The hall, now kitchen, has the screen to one side and a large axial stack to the other, this is of rubble stone with a modern lintel. The hall ceiling has large beams with deep chamfers and step stops. There is evidence above the screen for the insertion of a jettied upper chamber over the inner room.
Beyond the hall is the location of the former cross passage, this is now divided to form a small room with exposed stone walls, and a hall beyond containing a modern stair in the projecting extension. Beyond the passage is the former service end, now dining room, which was once heated with a lateral stack now removed.
The stair gives access to the upper floor where several rooms have exposed timbers and elements of the roof structure are visible.
Date first listed: 17th March 1988
Date of most recent amendment: 10th August 2017

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.