23982

 

II  

Designated  

08/09/2000  

08/09/2000  

Great House Farmhouse  

 

Monmouthshire  

Devauden  

Chepstow  

Wolvesnewton  

346376  

200001  

 

About lkm east of the Church of St Thomas a Becket on the north side of the road to Cobbler's Plain and Devauden.  

Agriculture and Subsistence  

 

This may be a C16 two cell house with an additional cell with stair-tower and lateral stack added at the right hand end in the mid C17 or it may be all one build; Fox and Raglan favour the first view. Rear wing added in the C19 and two small C20 outshuts added to that. Great House Farm was part of the estate sold by the Duke of Beaufort in 1900 to Henry Simpson of Tredean and later to Sir Edward Curre of Itton Court.  

Built of thin coursed rough sandstone rubble with Welsh slate roof and tiles on the rear slopes, Welsh slate to wing and outshuts. Rectangular 3-room two storey and garret single depth range with gabled porch on the front and a stair and lateral stack wing on the centre rear. The entrance elevation has three windows to the ground floor, two 3-light small paned 8 + 8 + 8 casements to the left of the gabled porch and a French casement to the right. These are all in adapted C17 openings. Four windows above, 3: 2: 3: 3-lights, each light is three panes, again these are C17 openings. All the windows are late C20 plastic casements. Porch with steeply pitched gable, 4-centred head and plank door. End stacks, both rebuilt. Right hand gable end has a fire-stair window with 4-centred head. C19 wing to right with modern windows, and entrance to cider cellar. Rear elevation has a two storey Victorian wing to the left with red brick dressings to the windows, gabled attic dormer on the main roof line. Centre bay has a small projecting wing with a large two flued stack to the left. The top of the stack is rebuilt in Victorian red brick probably replacing two diamond set flues as on other houses like Howick (qv). Next to this is a half gabled staircase wing with 3-light casement below and blocked window above. To the right of this wing is a small window under an oak lintel and a larger casement above, two roof-lights. Again all the windows are modern plastic units. The house is fronted by a square terraced garden with stone retaining walls and an entrance staircase inset at the corner. The walls are attached to the house and to a small square building, possibly a well-house, at the garden corner, which appears Victorian but has an older origin as it appears on the tithe map.  

The entrance door opens into a cross-passage with hall to right, this is the room which may have been added in the C17. This has a large fireplace with oak lintel and stone jambs and a bread oven. Ceiling beams with roll moulds. Fire-stair with solid oak treads and a doorway with oak surround with hollow chamfer with ogee stops and plank door. To the left of the cross-passage are two rooms, one with a fireplace on the rear wall. This is a made-up fireplace of perhaps c1920 with an oak mantel. Rear stone wheel stair rising to attic, more C17 plank doors with shaped heads. The first floor shows evidence of a 'Great Room' with a now blocked fireplace on the rear wall. This room has been divided up by a passage running across the back. Timber framed attic partitions. Principal rafter roof of five bays with trenched staggered purlins and ridge piece, original floorboards, much decayed. Front slope of roof has been re-slated reusing some secondary rafters.  

Included as a good C16 or C17 farmhouse which retains many good internal features and a fine outward appearance.