MSO9117 - Longcombe Farmstead (Monument)

A farm is shown on the Tithe Map of 1840 and consisted of two buildings and several small enclosures in 1889. The remains consist of a field wall, the footings of a barn and rubble from the demolition of the farmhouse.

The remains of a deserted farmstead lie at SS 9865 4119. The site is close to the stream which flows down Longcombe, a tributary of the River Avill. The site lies on the edge of a conifer plantation and a track runs through it; both of these have damaged the features. The remains comprise a muddy hollow, 6.5 by 3.5 metres, centred at SS 9866 4121. The foundations of a stone wall form the west and south sides; the eastern side is formed by a scarp and the northern edge is obscured by the track and an overgrown field boundary. The remains of a field wall can be discerned in the conifer plantation. Loose stone heaped against this bank at SS 9865 4119 may be demolition material from a building. [1] Longcombe Farm is noted in a parish survey of Carhampton. [2] Maps of the mid 19th Century show the farm. [3,4] In 1889 Longcombe Farm consists of two buildings and several small enclosures on the edge of open moorland. The depression described above marks the site of the barn depicted on this map; the piles of rubble are probably the remains of the farmhouse. [5] The remains of the farmstead at Longcombe can clearly be seen on aerial photographs, as can the associated water meadow, enclosure and field boundary in nearby fields (see NMR UID 1480374, 1479132, and 1480367). There is a reference to a dwelling called Longcombe on a map held by the Somerset Archive Service showing a disputed area of common land on Croydon Hill. The map is believed to date to approximately 1600. [6,7]