MEM21984 - Laundry at Pixton Stables, Dulverton (Building)

There are 16th and 17th century references to a farm at Pixton, and a description of the Barber family's holding of Pixton consists of 'a dwelling house, two new barns, stables and other outhouses, garden and orchard'. The mansion house and stables were built after Pixton passed to the Aclands in 1746. On a map of 1800, 'Pixton Mansion House, offices, stables, gardens, shrubbery' are marked. In 1922, the house was updated with a large garage, coach house, stabling for six or more horses and a laundry. The buildings between the house and garden were described as dilapidated in 1979. The main building, the laundry, is a two storey barn with an L-shaped leg that incorporates the greenhouse and melon house. [1] The stables were probably built by Sir Thomas Dyke Acland in the 18th century. The building faced west towards the house, with a central wide door and two windows each side of it. The 1800 map drawn by Lord Porchester shows the building with another along the north side of the yard. During the 19th century, the east face of the building became the front, facing into the yard. It is possible that it was used as a barn with a large opening opposite the original door. In the mid/late 19th century, the northern building was removed. It is likely that the laundry was put in, and the stable partitions renewed in the early 20th century. The laundry had a wet room and a drying room. There is a brick well immediately to the north of the building. The laundry/stables is a one and a half storey building, with a single ridge, slate roof and gable ends. Some internal features of the laundry still survive, including wooden sinks and pan coppers. [2] The building is marked north of Pixton Stables on the First and Second Edition Ordnance Survey maps. [3-4] The remains of a probable northward extension of the early 20th century laundry were recorded during an archaeological evaluation and watching brief, undertaken as part of the conversion of the laundry and potting shed. [5]