MDE21347 - Higher Cheriton Farmhouse (Building)

Higher Cheriton Farmhouse adjoining farmbuildings to northwest and southeast. Farmhouse and adjoining shippons. Early to mid 17th Century or possibly earlier, partly demolished probably in the late 17th or early 18th Century and porch probably added at the same time, extended probably in the 18th Century and eaves raised and farmbuildings added probably in the early to mid 19th Century. Coursed rubblestone, cement-rendered to front and right-hand end. Rendered stacks, end stacks to left with weatherings. Gable-ended slate roof. Plan and development: 3-room-and-through-passage plan facing south-west with lower end to right; hall with axial stack backing on to wide through-passage and inner room with end stack to left. Service room demolished probably in the late 17th or early 18th Century, passage entrance blocked and new entrance with large porch added in front of former hall, and parlour with integral end stack and entrance to front added at upper left end. Former hall now kitchen (July 1987), with winder stair in front of stack and probably 18th Century lean-to dairy to rear of kitchen and former through-passage. It is possible that the house was formerly an open hall, floored in the 17th Century and possibly the service end demolished and porch added at the same time. No evidence for this was noted at the time of the survey (July 1987) and the roof space was inaccessible. An alternative explanation of the plan would be that it was a longhouse, the present lower-end shippon is later than the house but could have been rebuilt. Flanking adjoining farmbuildings probably 19th Century shippon to right and late 19th Century addition to left (see straight joint). Two storeys. Exterior: asymmetrical front, 4 first floor 2-light 19th Century wooden casements and 2 to ground floor, that to hall with weathering, and that to right lighting former through-passage. Boarded 19th Century door off-centre to right with pegged wooden frame. Large probably 18th Century gabled-porch with segmental-arched opening with lean-to privy adjoining front of kitchen to left. 20th Century half-glazed door to left with 20th Century gabled porch, left-hand farmbuilding with pair of large c20 boarded doors and right-hand shippon with boarded door to left and rear wish. 2-leaf boarded door to right and vent to left. Interior: kitchen (probably former hall) with pair of chamfered cross-beams (chamfered wall half-beams to each room too). Boarded door to dairy at rear of kitchen (opposite porch) has probably 17th Century chamfered wooden frame with mason's mitres. Former through-passage to right with doorway to dairy at rear (former rear entrance) and 2 blocked doorways to former service rooms (now demolished). The reveals of the front window extend to the floor, suggesting that this was formerly a doorway and supporting the interpretation of this space as the former through-passage. [1] The buildings were visited in December 2013 as part of the rapid condition survey of Exmoor's Listed Buildings 2012-13. The farmhouse received a BAR score of 6 and the attached farm buildings a score of 5A. [2]