Description
Coombeshead Farmhouse (Grade II Listed). Probably late 17th century, extended at left end in 18c or early 19c, and to rear in 19th century. Rendered stone rubble. Slate roofs with gable ends. Rendered stone rubble axial and left gable end chimney stacks with tapered caps and drips. Brick chimney stack to right gable end rebuilt in the 20c. Originally a two-room symmetrical plan with a principal room each side of cross-passage, the passage terminating where the stairs run up laterally from the rear right-hand corner of the left-hand room. In 18c or early 19c, a two-storey extension was added at the lower left end as a kitchen with a stair turret, now demolished, to the rear right-hand corner. This part may have been occupied as a separate unit. In the 19c a gable-ended two-storey service wing was added to rear creating an overall T-shaped plan.
Two- storeys. Three window range. Principally 19c fenestration, all two-light casements, six panes per light. Gable slate roof to porch with half glazed inner door with margin glazing bars.
Interior: largely altered in 19c and 20c, but 19c joinery mostly intact including integral bench in kitchen. Beams cased in. Fireplace lintel in left-hand room has thin chamfer with straight-cut stops. Two pegged trusses with side-pegged collars and purlins resting on the back of principals to original range, single pegged truss with tiered purlins to extension.
Farm Buildings (Grade II Listed) incorporating stable, cart entrance gateway, lumber store and coal shed approximately 1m west of Coombeshed Farmhouse. Farmbuilding incorporating stable, cart entrance gateway, lumber store and coal sheds. Early 19c. Unrendered stone rubble. Slate roofs with gable ends. U-shaped on plan with central covered cart entrance flanked by two wings with gable ends projecting to rear, that to left incorporating lofted stables, that to the right with storage and coal sheds. Single storey, stables lofted. Double plank doors to cart entrance. Loft door above doorways flanking two windows to outer face of stables. Lean-to to right of cart entrance with triangular Owl Hole.
Barn with attached range of shippons (Grade II Listed) approx 15m west of Coombeshead Farmhouse. Early 19c. Unrendered stone rubble. Slate roofs with gable ends. T-shaped range of buildings, the barn built gable end into bank with cart entrance towards right end. Lofted shippon range, which is slightly cranked, extends at right angles to centre of front of barn with seven bays of cambered stone-arched doorways. The lower end of the barn was formerly lofted and has loft doorway over doorway facing into yard. First floor rear access to shippon loft. [1]
House and buildings of local stone and slate perfectly suited to their North Devon surroundings. House is 17c with 18c,19c and 20c extensions, set on the south facing slope near the head of the east-west running combe. A good example of a large North Devon stock and corn farming complex. The first mention of the site is in 1341, with leases recorded from 1632 onwards.
Coombeshead Farmhouse is a late 17c cross-passage house with two rooms with later two storey extensions to the west and north. It is a single pile, two storey house with regular fenestration to the front elevation and slated porch over the front door. Gable slate roof with three axial chimney stacks, two storey gabled extension to rear. Narrow outshut with catslide roof along west end of wall. The walls are rendered rubble stone.
There is a wide range of outbuildings from the late 17c to late 20c including a threshing barn, shippens, modern Dutch barn, dog sheds, calf pens, various stock houses, stables and machinery sheds. [Further details, map plans, interior and exterior photographs in report]. [2]
Coombeshead Farm, including the farmhouse and it's associated farm buildings were assessed for its historic development, significance and management recommendations in 2021 (further information available in the report including map plans, and exterior photographs). Coombeshead is a medieval and probably late Saxon farmstead site, documented from the 14th century. It is located at the head of a combe just to the east of Arlington’s medieval deer park. The farmstead developed at the meeting point of routeways lined by hedgebanks extending westwards towards Arlington, north to Arlington Down and south to Blakewell Down.
Coombeshead had been two farmsteads until at least the 17th century (Berry 2011, 52 [Source 3]). By the early 19th century the farmstead has developed to either side of an open space at the meeting point of these routeways, with a barn (8) and pond to the west and the farmhouse (1) and a south-facing farmyard to the east. Between 1845 and 1886 the existing buildings were remodelled and rebuilt and new buildings added, including an engine house (no longer present) and shelter sheds (7) added to the barn (8), a cartshed (9) and more housing for cattle with space for storing and processing fodder (6). These buildings reinforced the alignment of the group to the routeway extending into the combe and, although reworked as it nears the farmstead (MNA162049) towards the newly-enclosed Blakewell Down. As a result of these developments the farmstead is experienced as a group of buildings and yards extending along a north-west to south-east axis, intersected by the routeways extending to the north and south.
Buildings 1, 6, 7 and 8 are all listed Grade II and are described above [1-2]. The farmhouse (Building 1) retains original beams and roof structure, an open fireplace and most of its 19th century refitting. The walls close to the house are topped with quartz blocks, a common decorative technique on the estate. The U-plan range (Building 6) was built in 1845-86 and comprises a barn (a) facing north into a small yard, a cowhouse (6b) facing the routeway on the west side and more housing for cattle and calves (c-d). The barn (6a) with opposing doors showing that hand threshing and winnowing continued until the installation in the early 20th century of a diesel engine which was housed in a lean-to on its south side. The single-storey L-plan calf house (6c-d), has a dog kennel incorporated into its southern end. The threshing barn (Building 8) has walls from 18th century or earlier barn. A large entry was inserted to the north end of the east elevation, opposite the late 1840s-1870s horse-engine house which was demolished in the early 20th century; a lean-to (a on plan) to house a diesel engine was then inserted on the east side next to the threshing bay, the shaft and drive wheels being retained in the barn. The attached two-storey shelter shed (Building 7) was built in 1845-86. Unusually the loft has no openings except for a single loft door pitching in from the routeway to the north.
Other buildings described are a 19th century two-storey cowhouse (Building 2) with a southern lean-to built in two phases: the footprint closely matches that shown on the 1842 tithe map, and the lower walls are likely to be of this date; otherwise this was completely rebuilt in the late 19th century, with brick arches over the ground-floor openings and the usual internal construction to floor and roof. A Late 19th century (1888-1904) two-storey stable (Building 3), its west elevation having brick arches over central window and flanking doors; two loft windows. Rear set into bank, and building replaced one shown on approximate site in 1844 tithe map. An Early 19th century hip-roofed and single-storey cowhouse (Building 4), with door and window to south. Interior has late 19th or early 20th century roof structure. Attached to and set at an angle to this is a Late 18th to early 19th century two-storey cart shed and granary (Building 5a) and a single-storey pigsty (Building 5b). The cart shed openings were infilled in the early 20th century, leaving stone piers embedded in the masonry, and at the same time a wide vehicle doorway was inserted in the west gable. The Interior of the granary/cart shed was renewed in the early and later 20th century. A Single-storey cartshed (Building 9) of 1845-86, opens onto a routeway with posts removed to enable to be used for modern machinery and a sawn and bolted queen-post roof. [3] [4]