MDE21331 - Combe farmhouse, Countisbury (Building)

Farmhouse. Dated 1640 and 1664 (reset datestones in porch), remodelled and enlarged in 1848 (datestone), and further altered in the late 20th Century. Coursed sandstone rubble with bitumen-covered gable-ended slate roof. Plan and development: mid 17th Century 2-room plan with former hall to left and axial stone stack backing onto central probably former cross passage; possible former lower room to left (north) now demolished or either rebuilt. Mid 19th Century remodelling included substantial rebuilding of outer walls (2 square bays added to front, see straight joints and eaves probably raised), insertion of staircase in cross-passage and addition of porch to front (west), and external lateral stack probably added to rear of right-hand room (south) too. Large additions of the same date include wing to rear of hall with external lateral stone stack, and former shippon set back to left, converted to domestic use in the late 20th Century. One storey and attic with 2-storey former shippon. Exterior: symmetrical 3-bay front to west; large probably 19th Century central gable with reset millstone in apex and flanking full-height square bays with catslide roofs and gabled full dormers. Late 20th Century 2-light metal casements in 19th Century openings with dressed stone flat arches. Central mid 19th Century nail-studded stone boarded door with pegged frame and Tudor-arched head. Gabled stone porch with plinth and round archway with dressed voussiors; small reset millstone in apex of gable with small raised stone shield dated: "1848", left-hand jamb with reset inscribed stone dated: "1640". Former shippon adjoining house to left with pair of first-floor late 20th Century two-light metal casements, ground-floor late 20th Century two-light metal casement to right in older opening with stone flat arch (former doorway, see straight joints beneath), and 20th Century 2-leaf boarded door to right. Interior: hall has 4 deep-chamfered cross beams with scroll stops, blocked large fireplace, and bench against left-hand wall. Stone staircase in probably former cross-passage. 19th Century brick-arched fireplace in right-hand room. Roofspace not inspected. The house was formerly built into the hillside at the rear, partly excavated in the late 20th Century. It was formerly on the Glenthorne estate and the alterations were probably part of the improvements carried out on many of the farms in the mid 19th Century. [1] The Tithe Map for Countisbury appears to show the farmhouse extended much further to the south than is currently the case, although this may be ascribed to the map's georectification. It has been altered by the time the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map was surveyed and is mostly shown in its current form at that time. [2-4] The farmstead was visited in January 1997. The house was noted to be symmetrical, very gabled and dated to 1848, with reused datestones reading 1640 and ?1656. The house was thought to have been rebuilt by the Glenthorne Estate on an ancient site reusing older parts at the back. [5] The building was visited in December 2013 as part of the rapid condition survey of Exmoor's Listed Buildings 2012-13. It received a BAR score of 6. [6] The building was assessed as part of the 2018-19 rapid condition survey of Exmoor’s Listed Buildings, receiving a BAR score of 6. [7]