Summary
A C16 through-passage house, altered in the C19 and C20.
Reasons for Designation
Wiltown Farm, a C16 through-passage house altered in the C19 and C20, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Survival of early fabric: for the survival of C16 fabric which is of high quality, particularly the ceilings of the hall and inner room, the hall fireplace and stack and the early structural walls;
* Floor plan: the survival of the floor plan of a C16 through-passage house, which allows an understanding of the layout and operation of the building.
History
Wiltown Farm is believed to date from the C16, and the house and outbuildings are shown on the 1838 tithe map in much the same layout as they are today, and the farm at this time was tenanted. The southern end of the house is believed to have been rebuilt at some point between the 1838 map and the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1890, by which time the plan of the house has taken on its present form, with the distinctive set-back on the western elevation.
It is possible that some other alterations took place at this time, including the partial rebuilding of upper floors, the replacement of the roof, and the insertion of sash windows. Further alterations took place in the C20, including the insertion of uPVC windows.
Details
A C16 through-passage house, altered in the C19 and C20.
MATERIALS: The house is understood to have originally been constructed of cob, with parts rebuilt in stone and brick now with a modern render, and sits under a slate roof.
PLAN: The house and outbuildings are laid around a loose courtyard, with the house aligned roughly north-south.
EXTERIOR: The eastern, entrance elevation has a largely C19 appearance, with a central door flanked by tall windows. The modern door is of timber with a glazed upper part with margin lights and sits under a slate roofed canopy, and the windows are modern uPVC replacements in brick surrounds with cambered heads and quoin detailing. The walls have a modern render, the roof is of slate and there are two brick stacks on the ridge. Projecting from the northern end is an outbuilding now converted to form part of the house.
The western elevation is of four bays, the northern two projecting further and possibly showing the line of the original building. There is a lean-to enclosed veranda along the southern part.
INTERIOR: The main entrance opens into what is most likely the original through-passage, now with a C19 quarry tiled floor. To the south, the former service end, which is thought to have been rebuilt in the C19, is a large room with a timber fire surround, painted to resemble marble, with picture rail and four panelled timber door. North of the passage is the hall, which contains the remains of a substantial C16 ceiling, with intersecting beams forming two panels. The principal beams have deep composite mouldings, the secondary members are mostly replaced but appear to use original mortice holes. There is a large fireplace with a substantial lintel, chamfered but without stops, and evidence within of an oven. Beneath the adjacent modern stair is possible evidence of an earlier winder stair. The northern room has plain chamfered and stopped beams.
The upper floor is of lesser interest, but retains some C19 doors and a fire surround, and is otherwise largely plain. It is understood that the floor level has been raised at the northern end of the building, and the upper sections of the walls appear also to have been rebuilt, most likely in the C19. In the roof space, the upper section of the chimney stack displays evidence of the line of the earlier roof, approximately one foot below the line of the present roof. The roof structure has been replaced.
