MSO10770 - Malthouse and traction engine house, West Lynch (Building)

Former malthouse (north) and traction engine house (south), probably dating from the early 19th Century and forming part of the Clarke's Mill complex, mostly now demolished. They are built of stone rubble with brick dressings.

Malthouse and traction engine house, now disused. Early-mid C19. Random rubble and pebbles, brick dressings, steeply pitched slate roofs, pyramid to malthouse with circular vent at apex, catslide roof over central bay of traction engine house. Plan: part of range of buildings running up hillside, square malthouse set above hexagonal traction engine house to north. East front: 2 storeys, canted facade of engine house, central first floor doorway reached by lateral flight of external stone steps, door below, small glazed openings right below eaves and on ground floor, 2 windows left gable end; right abuts malthouse, 2-light window below eaves, glazed opening to left of cambered head doorway. Interior not seen. Part of Clarke's Mill complex begun late C18 and enlarged early C19. [1] English Heritage Listed Building Number: 265551. First Listed on 02/01/1986. [2] Square plan. Stone, Random rubble walls. Hipped roof [3] The buildings are referred to in the 2003 Conservation Area appraisal for Bossington and West Lynch, which states "At the lower end of the associated outbuildings [of West Lynch House] is a former malt-house and traction engine house, probably dating from the early 19th century (they are shown on the 1841 Tithe Map). Built of stone rubble with brick dressings, the former has a steeply pitched pyramid roof with circular vent at the apex. The square malt-house is set above the hexagonal traction house adjoining, and there is an adjoining external flight of stone steps." [4] The buildings were visited in March 2012 as part of the rapid condition survey of Exmoor's Listed Buildings 2012-13. They received a BAR score of 6. [5] The building is labelled "The Maltings" on 2020 MasterMap data. [6] A site file with photographs was compiled by RCHME in 1992. [7] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [8] The building is mentioned in the 2019 Conservation Area Appraisal for Bossington. [9] The mapping has been updated to reflect the 2022 MasterMap data, which appears to have been slightly amended from the 2020 data. [10] A malthouse worked by the Clarke family with the corn mill to the southeast; a traction engine house is to the southwest. The malthouse has a pyramid shaped roof. [11] The building was assessed as part of the 2018-19 rapid condition survey of Exmoor’s Listed Buildings, receiving a BAR score of 6. [12]