Description
Small house. Two-storey, four bay, rectangular building, with medieval hall and cross-passage and two-storey cross-wing on the west gable end. Probably dating from second half of C15th. The front cross-passage is sheltered by a two-storey, gabled porch, added in the angle between the wing and house in the mid-to-late C16th. A barn runs east of the house, part of it converted into a cottage.
A lean-to on the east gable of the house probably replaces a two-storey wing, the manor would have been H shaped and set on a platform, cut along the hill slope. Some remains of other buildings are behind on a higher platform; the high setting of the rear cross-passage doorway suggests it gave access to further accommodation.
Various lean-to's have been added to the rear, including two stair turrets; one of these is still in use, although the stairs are C12th. The dairy at the east end and a room behind the cross-wing at rear ground level - approx 1.5m higher than the ground floor - are also later additions. To give access to the rear, the cross-passage doorway threshold is over a metre above floor level, a possibly unique feature (pers comm P Beacham).
The hall which was single storey, has a lateral stack, partially external, but unfortunately the lower part has been rebuilt and the original fireplace has gone. There is an axial stack on the east gable, the latter shows considerable disturbance. There is also a short, but fairly large chimney east of the lean-to kitchen.
The house, wing and lean-to's are built of local shale and sandstone, with a slate roof. The ridge tiles are probably original because they are similar to some found in Barnstaple (pers Comm L Blanchard). Other roof coverings are tiles and corrugated iron.
The front of the house, wing and lower part of the porch are rendered - as is the rear wall with a hard cement render which needs to be removed.
A barn runs west from the wing, on the same alignment. The eastern part of this was converted into a two-bedroomed cottage around 1800; the western part is used as the Warden's store. In C20th the cottage and wing were linked on both floors.
The cross-wing has a small datestone in the south elevation which reads'1703', this does not seem to relate to any development in the house recognised so far.
The porch, which has a round-headed opening on the ground floor and a stone mullion, two-light window above, also carries a coat-of-arms which has six quarters, including the arms of Prouz and Orchard. It belongs to John Prouz (prouze or Prous, pronounced Prowse in North Devon but Prooze in central Devon), who inherited West Challacombe around 1550. The word ANNO can be deciphered but the sandstone has weathered on the right corner where the date would have been.
The original plan of the ground floor was cross-passage and hall, open to the roof, with a lateral stack midway along the north wall of the hall. The west wing was probably the service area, two-storey, with a stair turret against the lateral stack. The chamber over has a rear, three-light, mullion window with trefoil heads, it is not rebated for glazing. The pattern of the right (east) wing cannot be identified, but it was probably two-storey, because a timber from a pitched roof survives in the present roof structure and the foot of a probable truss, at the correct angle and position, survives in the east gable wall. There is a dumpy chimney on the east od the wing which may be a remnant of the wing fireplace; it has not been thoroughly examined.
The front cross-passage doorway has moulded and stopped sandstone jambs, running up in a gothic arch. It is ashlar work of quality; the rear doorway is of similar stone but much simpler; it also has a rebate for a large door. The front door is massive, of four planks with moulded cover strips. Newer wood has been scarved in at the bottom but much of the original remains. Two, late C16th early C17th figures have been nailed to the two central planks, one male one hermaphrodite. They are similar to others of the period found carved on chests.
The hammerbeam roof largely surviving intact and probably dating to the second half of C15th, is four bay and extends over the hall and cross passage. There are five major and four intermediate trusses, all on A-frames with arch-bracing, resting on hammer beams set across the top of the walls. The two sets of purlins and paired ridge purlins, with intermediate trusses, divide the bays into six compartments on each pitch; in each of these are paired windbraces with foliated cusps. All timbers are oak, and all except the windbraces and the major trusses are moulded throughout. The major A-frames are plain, but have applied mouldings on each side, linked to the blades by pegged slipped tenons. The trusses against the gable walls carry an applied moulding on the inner side only. The arch bracing is also attached to the blades with pegged slip tenons.
The only elements of the roof structure which do not survive at all are the arch bracings below the hammer-beams. The evidence for them is visible in the walls. A deep moulded cornice between the hammer-beams completes the structure.
The documentary evidence suggests that the Challacombe family owned the property in the late medieval period; there are also North and Est Challacombe surviving. In about 1475 Joan or Jane Orchard or Challacombe of West Challacombe, married John Prouz of Chagford. It may be that the roof is connected with this marriage as the Prouz family had been rich and powerful. The John Prouz coat-of-arms on the porch is the great-grandson of the marriage and the last mention of this family is in an indenture of 1690 between another John Prouz and Judith Southcote, and John's father Humphrey, which names West Challacombe. The Peard's held the property in 1782.
The present appearance of the farmland and house is not necessarily a good guide to its past. There have been substantial changes in the landscape and land use practices. The mining remains are certainly locally significant to the economic and social history of Combe Martin. There is however no tangible evidence to ascribe mining to the wealth of the property in the medieval period. Overall the archaeological evidence of the development of the landscape does not suggest anything spectacular or unique. However, the surviving estate is not an accurate reflection of its former extent. The C14th cruck barn indicates a sizeable and wealthy holding, probably more than the 177 acres listed in the Tithe apportionment of 1843. The documentary evidence from the 1531 inquiry shows that the owners of West Challacombe were attempting to enclose more land for the property from about the 1470's onwards, probably following the marriage of Orchard to Prouz. Clearly there have been significant changes to the enclosed landscape over time, especially the post-medieval period, say 1550-1800. Much more detail can be seen in the C19th and the archaeological evidence of new outbuildings, a pond, water management features, a series of gate piers and other enclosures suggest a period busy with the ideal of improvement and not inconsiderable investment. It is the wider landscape that provides the real significance of the property. The restoration and maintenance of the historic field boundaries is therefore of primary concern. The property is significant because of the changes evident in the status of West Challacombe over the centuries, its role in the evolution of the Challacombe valley, its farmsteads and patterns of ownership. To this can be added the documentary evidence of the relationship of West Challacombe to the inhabitants of Combe Martin, especially the history of enclosure and mining.- Dr N Berry
NB Further research on the Medieval Roof of the Former Open Hall carried out by Exeter Archaeology (S R Blaylock) in December 2004. Report listed in Sources below.