MEM25104 - Exmoor House, Wheddon Cross (Monument)

The building was in use as a house in the 19th Century. It was converted into flats and then a guest house in the 1960s. A smithy is recorded on this site in the late 19th Century, and a skittle alley was also present in the mid 20th Century.

A rectangular building is shown on the Tithe Map at SS 9242 3878. It occupies the southern corner of the crossroads at the centre of Wheddon Cross, and runs along the street frontage running southwest from the crossroads. It is labelled 388a, which the Apportionment describes as "House and Garden", owned and occupied by John Ridler. [1] By the time the 25 inch 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map was surveyed, the building had been extended into an L shaped subdivided range that extended further to the southwest and also ran eastsoutheast from the crossroads. There is a small outbuilding shown in the rear of the land parcel. The label "Smithy" is shown on the map, although it is not clear to which structure on the site this label refers. [2] The building is shown similarly laid out on the 2021 MasterMap data, although it is probable that some alterations have taken place. The site is now labelled "Exmoor House". [3] A planning application submitted in May 1964 to convert the property into four self contained flats was approved in June 1964. [4] A further planning application submitted in October 1968 proposed to change the use of the property from flats to a guest house and hostel, with a skittle alley to be converted to stables. This was approved in December 1968. [5]