MDE21884 - The Homestead, East Ilkerton (Building)

Farm buildings to the east of the Homestead farmhouse with walls and gates. Group of farm buildings, including bank barn, stables, and piggery with linking boundary walls. Late 18C and 19C. Rubble, slate roofs. Enclosing a neat square yard immediately to the east of The Homestead Farmhouse. To south, adjacent to Hanging Lane, a range in 2 units, with stepped roof. To the road a loading door with slate cill; giving entry to upper level of right-hand half. Gable to right, on Ilkerton Hill, has small 2-light with brick head, gable to left plain; attached to this end a rubble boundary wall approx 1m high with on-edge stone coping, having a pair of square piers to flat slab cappings and an iron gate with spearhead bars and dog bars, opposite the house porch entry. Wall continues left the full width of house frontage. Inner front, to yard at lower level, has 2 broad open segmental arches on central brick pier to left, and in right half a plank door low left and loading door centred above. Attached right a rubble wall to large square pier and gate with spearhead bars, on 5 stone steps, rising to house frontage. On Ilkerton Hill front range continues as boundary wall approx 3.5m high, to slate coping and tiled ridge over a wide segmental-headed opening and gate. Continuous with gable end to left, but steps up beyond gateway, and abuts gable end of barn. Behind wall, to right, range of pigsties, with lean-to slated roof, over 3 plank doorways; concrete block walls enclose the feeding spaces. Long barn range has small 2-light with brick head on outer gable, and yard frontage has central plank door on a broad landing to flight of stone steps, carried over arched recess to ground-floor doors. To left are 2 doors with a small light to right. The outer face, to the field at higher level, is a full-height pair of plank doors centrally, with small square opening to right, and lean-to with doorway. Left end of this barn overlaps back of farmhouse, with a throughway. Grassed yard retains areas of original cobbled flooring. Interiors of farm buildings not accessible. This group, with the farmhouse, is an unusually well retained example of a northern Exmoor farm, of considerable historic interest. [1] The farmstead was visited in December 1996. The house was noted to be built across the contours of the site and was suggested to be late 17th Century or earlier in date. The yard was thought to be 18th or 19th Century, with farm buildings fronting the lane with a high wall and gate. The buildings have rubble walls and slate roofs, with brick arched openings and a contemporary cobbled yard surface. The buildings have wide eaves, with a note suggesting one had a smoke blackened roof. [2] The buildings were visited in December 2013 as part of the rapid condition survey of Exmoor's Listed Buildings 2012-13. They received a BAR score of 6. [3]