Caversham (8) and Hillview (9), Cross-Passage House, Holnicote Estate

Summary

Late 16c two or three cell cross-passage house, divided into two cottages in the 19c and the frontage modified. Two storey, triple V tile roof over rubble stone walls, rendered and limewashed on the front elevation and extensions.

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Description

Two storey, single pile with paired front porches having arched openings with stone voussoirs. Main roof pitched with gable ends and raking dormers. Two buttresses with raked tops and two stone drip courses at each angle of the southeast corner walls. Ground floor windows asymmetrical. A dripstone over the door of No. 8 ( Caversham), and ground floor windows of No. 9 ( Hillview) indicates the earlier single house. Sills and lintels mainly replaced with concrete.

North side lean-to ( No. 8) with single pitch roof, but separate pitch falling to east at east end. Rear stair turret protruding with catslide roof over. Between the stair turret and corner is another lean-to with stack in the southeast corner. Pentice roof on the back of the stair turret forms small open but under-cover store. Rear single storey extension ( No. 9), gable-ended with narrow pitched roof running eastwards from main house. Further small lean-to forming corner with main house.

Roof of main house at front "triple-V" brown Bridgewater tiles with collared ridge tiles, rear brown concrete pantiles replaced thatch on rear pitch after 1971. Rear extension to No. 9 and pentice roof also triple-V tiles. Small rear lean-to ( No. 9) and rear lean-to ( No. 8), double roman tiles with lead valley and flashing. North side lean-to, asbestos slate.

Front walls rendered and limewashed apart from porches which are of local waterworn and quarried stone roughly coursed with hewn voussoirs forming a four centred arch, very attractive. Side and rear extensions to No. 8 and rear extension to No. 9 also rendered and limewashed. All remaining walls are of randomly coursed rubble stone, mainly waterworn. There is some rather unsatisfactory heavy cement mortar and strap pointing replacing earlier lime mortar. Stair turret rubble stone, thinly coursed with evidence of early lime mortar. Near pentice on south side of turret harder cement pointing.

Built originally as a two or three cell house with a cross- passage. A blocked doorway indicates the original position of the rear door to the cross-passage. Of the surviving features, the transverse beams with wide chamfers and step-runout stops, the heavy pegged doorframe with ovolo moulding and high step-runout stops, and the semi-rounded stair turret with stone steps all suggest late 16c construction.

Rear extension added to No. 9 in 18c/ early 19c, cross-passage door possibly blocked at this time and window inserted instead ( extension on 1841 Porlock Tithe map). Mid 19c house divided into two cottages, passage created on north side of cross-passage and paired porches built over two front doors. Stairs inserted, possibly blocking window in rear cross-passage doorway. Extension built on rear of No. 8 next to stair turret, probably a wash house as it had a chimney. Outhouse on north end ( shown on 1889 OS Somerset sheet XXXIV.2, scale 1:2,500). In the early 20c small kitchen and privy added to rear of No. 9. Northeast corner of No. 8 filled in between rear wash-house and northern fuel store and privy ( on 1929 OS Somerset sheet XXXIV.2). In the 1960s/ early 1970s bathrooms inserted in both cottages, No. 8 in previous coalshed, with earth closet incorporated into it, No. 9 in extended Elsan closet ( Holnicote plans nos. 225 and 296).

Important features:
External appearance with paired porches.
Roof structure.
Beams in both living rooms.
Doors and doorways, particularly No. 8 living room D2 and landing frames.
Spiral stairs in rear turret.

In a generally good state of repair but some ground floor partitions in rather poor condition.

Outbuildings:

No. 8:

Shed/ Store: Timber frame lean-to adjoining outbuilding wall of Bossington Farm. Open at the west end, doorway in southeast corner. Roof of corrugated iron on timbers over walls of vertical planks on a frame. Not shown on the 1903 OS Somerset sheet XXXIV.2 scale 1:2,500 but on the 1929 revised 2nd edition. In a poor state of repair.

Garden Store: Lean-to on south end of Bossington Farm Threshing Barn, continuous wall and roof with South Linhay of farm. Access from garden of No. 8, no access from the farm. Roof of double roman tiles over rubble stone walls. Not shown on the 1876 Holnicote Estate map but is shown on the 1889 OS first edition 1:2,500 scale map ( Somerset sheet XXXIV.2). Important features: external appearance. In a good state of repair.

No. 9:

Garden Store: A small gable-ended building butting onto the north end of Bossington Barns ( which was built - according to map evidence - between 1889 and 1903). Roof of triple roll tiles with plain ridge, large plain barge boards on gable end. Walls of roughly coursed rubble stone, some larger squared stones in quoins. Not shown on the 1876 Holnicote Estate map but is shown on the 1889 OS first edition 1:2,500 map ( Somerset sheet XXXIV.2). Important features: external appearance. In a fair state of repair, roof in good condition but doors in poor state. [1]

The houses were recorded seperately as 115008 and 115009, as part of the Holnicote Estate Survey in 2001 and is described as:

No 8 (Caversham): north western half of a late16c-early 17c two room jointed cruck cross-passage house with tiled roof and rubble sandstone walls, rendered on the front. Twinned porches over the front doors (including site 115009) give a misleadingly late appearance belied by the irregular fenestration, presumably this is why the building was de-listed in the1980s. A listing application at Grade II standard is in process. Rear stair turret and single storey lean-tos on the north west and north east sides give additional ground floor space to the single large room, the hall, of the original house. Three jointed crucks visible in the three bedrooms.

No. 9 (Hillview): South eastern half of the late 16c–early 17c house described in site 115008. This half includes the cross-passage and lower room with hollow chamfered beams as in site 115008. Inserted stairs at end of cross-passage. Rear lean-tos, single storey, give kitchen and bathroom space. Three jointed crucks visible in the first floor space which has three bedrooms. [2]

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