MEM23734 - Lower Blackland Farm, Withypool (Building)

The Tithe Map for Withypool shows a farmhouse orientated approximately northwest to southeast at SS 8344 3668, facing and fronting the road to the east. On the opposite side of the road is a long linear building at c. SS 8347 3670 and a further small building is sited at c. SS 8347 3666. The group is labelled 25 and the accompanying Apportionment describes this as "House and Barton" of Lower Blackland, owned by James Edward Jackson Riccard and occupied by William Williams. [1] It is not clear to what extent the buildings have been modified by the time the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map was surveyed. The farmhouse appears to have been extended breadthways, although it may have been at least partially demolished and rebuilt. The long building at c. SS 8347 3670 appears to have been reduced in length and the remaining small building demolished. Two small buildings had been built at SS 8344 3671 and SS 8346 3669. This layout is repeated on the 2nd Edition map, but with part of the southern end of the farmhouse demolished to leave a small outbuilding at SS 8344 3666. [2,3] Since the 2nd Edition map was surveyed, the long building appears to have been reduced further in size and the small building to its front (at SS 8346 3669) demolished. Several larger more recent buildings have also been added around the edge of the farmstead. [4] The site was visited as part of the Exmoor Farmsteads Survey in February 1997. The house was thought to date to c.1900 with a new roof and back clad with tin. It wasn't clear if the house was a total rebuild but it was noted that it was entered through an old passage with shippon attached, which suggested origins of a long house. A few rubble buildings and a 19th Century barn suggested the yard was to the front of the house. [5]