Olands, Probable Cross-Passage House, Holnicote Estate

Summary

A probable 16th century, two storey three-cell house, red tile roof over walls of roughly coursed local stone. Formerly two cottages, now one house. Very thick walls in the north part of the house suggest an early date but extensive 19th century alterations have removed earlier features.

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Description

Single pile two storey three-cell house, gable ended with roof pitches of different lengths. One and a half storey gabled extension on north end with a rear lean-to. Catslide roof but with shallower pitch over lean-to. Small outbuilding in angle between lean-to and main house. Part of the rear elevation is stepped out with a first floor window angled above, and the roof supported by a raking strut. A lean-to porch roof supported by posts shelters the doorway below. Both front and rear are of irregular alignment. Front walls are raised from just above the present first floor sills and three infilled windows are apparent below the present ones. There are two front porches, the south one is gabled, the north one a single pitch lean-to which indicates the position of a blocked doorway. The south end was probably once a full hip, the north end has the line of an old gable showing, hardly higher than the extension, with sandstone above to half-hip height, then later infill with no sandstone. To the rear of the main house, a mark above the ground floor lintels shows the position of a removed glass lean- to conservatory ( 1980's).

The roof of main house is of small red tiles with collared ridge tiles; north extension and both porches, double roman; front projecting oven and rear porch, "triple V" tiles. Lead flashing around stacks. Large dormer in rear pitch.

Walls a mixture of local stone of most varieties, mainly waterworn and roughly coursed. Raising front walls of 50% red sandstone more regularly coursed. Buttress with stone capping and angled slate above, filled in with concrete. Rear walls with quoins, window and door jambs and lintels thought to be of Wellington brick. Sills are late 19c painted brickwork except south ground floor which are apparently of slate. Rear lean-to and infill by dormer in a different brick.

The south porch has a square timber frame, with raked roundwood struts and a seat; the north porch, a square timber frame and trellis.

Probably a late 16c/ early 17c three cell cross-passage house with front lateral stack. The first floor openings and eaves were much lower than at present ( three blocked windows and eaves line visible in front elevation, lintel of open fireplace visible from fireplace above present inserted timber). The northwest extension ( kitchen) has very thick walls and may even predate the house, walls of this width ( c0.8m) are often of cob. In the late 19c a major overhaul of the property took place. The rear is shown with a small wing on the 1841 Porlock Tithe map, this has gone and the rear wall was rebuilt, partially on the line of the old wall, but the south end is set so as to form a square room at the south end of the house. The brick quoins and jambs belong to this rebuild, and a great deal of the interior - the bedrooms, possibly the stairs, the southern front lateral stack, the corner fireplace in the northern bedroom K of the house, the roof trusses, and possibly the transverse wall along the northwest side of the central room. Most of the windows and doors and their fixtures also belong to this period.

Important Features:
Walls and openings suggesting an early date.
Open fireplace and oven.
19c fixtures.

In a generally good state of repair.

Outbuildings:

Store: Single storey lean-to on rear junction of house and north extension. Roof of corrugated iron over walls of hit and miss planking where not shared with house. Shown on the 1929 revised second edition OS 1:2,500 ( Somerset sheet XXXIV.2), but not on the 1903 second edition. In a fair state of repair.

Privy: A small detached single cell outbuilding set well back from the main house. Roof single pitch, double roman tiles, some broken or missing. Along the ridge is a row of boulders set end on in concrete with some missing. Walls of roughly coursed stone with heavy mortar infill, large squared off quoins. Substantial crack down both east and west walls where they butt on to north wall. Much mortar is very soft and is in need of re-pointing. Moderately infested with ivy. A much larger building is shown on the site of or very close to this building on the 1841 Porlock Tithe map and the 1889 OS 1:2,500 first edition ( Somerset sheet XXXIV.2) and the present building may be all that remains of part of it. The building as it is now, appears on the 1903 second edition OS map, as does a larger outbuilding in the southeast corner of the garden, but the latter is not shown on the 1929 2nd edition OS map. Important feature: external appearance. In a poor state of repair. Archaeological Comments - Site:115014*0 [1]

The house was recorded as part of the Holnicote Estate Survey in 2001 and is described as 'a three room and cross-passage 17c house much rebuilt in the 19c, with tiled roof and rubble stone walls. Earlier first floor window openings, now blocked, are visible in the front elevation, as is a much lower original eaves line. External front stack with side oven and a later corner stack are on the front elevation. The back wall is probably 19c, with the south end recessed, forming a smaller but square room. On the north end is a one and a half storey single cell extension. This has thick walls and may predate the rest of the building. The roof structure is replacement and may go with the tiles replacing thatch c.1900.' [2]

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