Description
Built as a three cell cross-passage house, No 15a now occupies the lower north room and No. 15 the cross-passage, hall and inner room. Front elevation with front lateral stack and front wall south of this brought out on a level between the windows. It has cracked and been patched with cement mortar, but water can easily penetrate and it needs urgent attention. Stack shouldered on north side with quarter circle oven between stack and cross-passage door. Ground floor windows large timber lintels, bits of brick in jambs, sills chamfered, brick painted over. First floor sills probably concrete.
South end with stone segmental arch over ground floor window, row of double roman tiles along half-hip and rendered stonework above. Axial stack, partially external.
North gable wall shows evidence of earlier steeper pitch of roof and lower eaves level. Lean-to porch on northwest corner, backing onto external axial stack with raked shoulders and round upper.
Rear elevation has two storey wing with internal north lateral stack and gable end. A short enclosed passage connects the wing to the outhouse, now combined with the house. Lean-to on south end of rear, roof set about 0.4m below eaves, and small lean-to porch in corner formed by lean-to south wall and house.
Cobbled steps to front door.
Roof of double roman tiles and matching ridge apart from both porches which have triple-V tiles. Oven roof slated. Walls of house rubble stone, only rendered on south half-hip. Front elevation rebuild at south end with larger stone used. Rest of front, sides and rear of small roughly coursed quarried stone. Rear elevation stairs window ( No. 15) brick jambs. Larder window ( No. 15) in blocked rear cross-passage doorway. Wing as house, some large stone used, upper part of stack with brickwork showing in wall. Rear lean-to has larger waterworn stone, randomly laid, occasionally brick used.
16c/ early 17c three room cross-passage house with front lateral stack on the hall and thatched roof. As the original roof timbers have been replaced it is not known whether they were jointed crucks. The likelihood is that they were as the original wall height was 0.4m lower. Early in the 19c the house was divided into two cottages. Both stairs' doors have beaded planks and HL hinges. The north stack, possibly added to heat the lower room at this time, has a round upper, this indicates that these may be early 19c. It is given in the 1809-1812 Holnicote Estate Survey as a cottage and garden, "Late Rd Tyrel's".
Shown on the 1841 Porlock Tithe Map as two cottages with an outbuilding on the south end of No. 15. The two outbuildings Utility/ Store and Garden Store are also shown, as is the rear wing on no 15a. The lean-to on the rear of No. 15 is also marked. In the late 19c/ early 20c the thatch removed and house tiled, half hips built as gable ends. Between 1889 and 1903 the south outbuilding was removed, this has remained as garden ever since. ( 1st edition and 2nd editions OS Somerset sheet XXXIV.2, scale 1:2,500). Between 1903 and 1929 outbuildings at far end of gardens ( Garden Store and Goathouse) built, shown on 1929 revised 2nd edition XXXIV.2). Bathrooms inserted 1964, at No. 15 in rear of cross-passage and for No. 15a in rear outbuilding, wing kitchen connected to this with a short passage which included a larder. Open fireplace in living room ( No. 15) probably blocked at the same time and a Rayburn put in. At this time the cottages were tied to West Lynch Farm ( 115,163), plans in Holnicote Estate Office ref. 182.
Important Features:
External appearance with front stack and oven, rounded upper on north chimney.
Beams and blocked open fireplace with bake oven in living room ( No. 15).
18c and 19c plank and ledge doors, including stair doors in No. 15a.
19c and early 20c casement windows.
In a rather poor state of repair - evidence of severe stress in front wall which is bowing out considerably owing to possible collapse downwards of loose infill between stone outer skins, further aggravated by splaying of trusses.
Outbuildings:
15a Bossington:
Utility Room/ Store: Low, single storey, gable-ended outbuilding with ridge running parallel to main house. Adjoining bathroom of 15a. Roof of double roman tiles with matching ridge. Walls of roughly coursed rubble stone, larger stones at quoins. Early 19c, an outbuilding is shown on this site on the 1841 Porlock Tithe map. Important feature: external appearance. In a good state of repair.
Car Port/ Workshop: Modern prefabricated timber shed and lean-to car port adjoining to northeast. Roof of corrugated UPVC, translucent over Car Port. Walls of shed horizontal interlocking boards, the Car Port is open with round metal supports. Late 20c, not shown on OS 1:2,500 sheet SS 8847-8947 dated 1974. In a good state of repair.
Garden Store: Single storey stone-built gable-ended detached outbuilding, one cell of two cells shared with No. 15. Roof of triple-V tiles with collared ridge tiles. Walls large boulders, mostly waterworn, nicely laid with some larger squared-off stones in quoins. Early 20c, not shown on 1903 OS 2nd edition 1:2,500 Somerset Sheet XXXIV.2 but on 1929 revised 2nd edition. Important features: external appearance. In a good state of repair.
15 Bossington:
Goat House: Single-storey stone-built detached outbuilding, one cell of two cells shared with No. 15a. Roof of triple-V tiles with collared ridge tiles. Walls of large boulders, mostly waterworn, randomly laid with some larger squared-off stones in quoins. Early 20c, not shown on 1903 OS 2nd edition 1:2,500 Somerset sheet XXXIV.2 but on 1929 revised 2nd edition. Important features: external appearance. In a good state of repair.
Privy/ Garden Store: Small single-cell outbuilding apparently added on to two-cell outbuilding at rear of 15a with continuous ridge over. Roof of double roman tiles with matching ridge. Walls of roughly coursed random rubble stone, larger squared-off stone at quoins. Late 19c, does not appear to be shown on 1889 OS 1st edition 1:2,500 Somerset sheet XXXIV.2, but is shown on 1903 OS 2nd edition when it is included within the garden of 15a. On the 1929 OS revised 2nd edition it is shown as at present. Important features: external appearance, part of the 19c provision for the cottages. In a fair state of repair, broken roof tile, base of door rotted away. [1]
The house was recorded seperately as 115015 and 115015/1 as part of the Holnicote Estate Survey in 2001 and are described as:
No. 15: 'south eastern half of a late16c-early 17c three room cross-passage house, with tiled roof and rubble stone walls. The cross-passage, hall with front stack and lateral oven and the inner room are included in this cottage. Rear single storey lean-tos give kitchen space. An internal flue serves the inner room fireplace, both chimneys have rectangular uppers. Three bedrooms on the first floor. When the roof was thatched it was half hipped.'
No. 15a: 'the north western part of the house described in site 115015, with only the lower room of the original house. A one and a half storey rear wing with a link to outhouses in the garden gives a bathroom and store rooms. Gable end stack, external, with a round upper, has the porch butting onto it, protecting the ‘front’ entrance in the west end of the wall. Roof structure replaced in the19c, and adjusted c.1900 when the thatch was replaced with tiles.' [2]