Summary

Farmhouse, possibly with C17 origins; altered to its current configuration in 1762; partially rebuilt in 1994. Interior altered in 1931 and later.

Description

Farmhouse, possibly with C17 origins; altered to its current configuration in 1762; partially rebuilt in 1994. Interior altered in 1931 and later.

MATERIALS: granite rubblestone with granite quoins and dressings, C20 slate roof and concrete-block construction to the south and east elevations, faced with granite.

PLAN: rectangular, two-room, cross-passage plan (cross passage widened in 1931 to create a stair hall), with two single-storey extensions to the north. C21 extension to the east.

EXTERIOR: the farmhouse is of two storeys and has an almost symmetrical principal elevation (south) of three window bays and a central doorway flanked by windows. The windows are C20 timber horizontal-sliding sashes each leaf having six panes, which are smaller to the ground floor. The pitched roof is laid with natural slate and there is a substantial end stack with a stone dripcourse and tapered top to the west, and a smaller, rebuilt stack to the east. The south and east elevations and roof were rebuilt in 1994. The west elevation is blind and shows evidence of where the rebuilt south elevation has been tied into the gable end. The two single-storey extensions on the north elevation have a recessed porch between them with a vertical sash-window above. The annexe extension to the east is of modern construction, faced in granite rubble.

INTERIOR: whilst the principal elevation is to the south, the house is mainly accessed through a recessed porch on the north elevation. To the left of a small inner hallway, through a modern opening with a large granite lintel, is a modern utility room with a slate flag floor. The doorway leading south to the staircase hall has a chamfered granite frame and the lintel is faintly carved ‘RWR’. The staircase hall has matchboard partition walls on the east and west, with a C20 straight staircase on the east side with matchboarded spandrel framing, a plain balustrade, and turned newels. The front door is ahead to the south. To the right of the staircase hall is the former kitchen, now a dining room, with a large granite inglenook fireplace on the west wall. On the right-hand side of the fireplace is a granite-rubble domed bread oven, and on the left is a small square recess, said to be for storing salt and flour. The timber fireplace lintel is C20. On the north side of the dining room (within the former dairy) is a modern kitchen with a matchboarded ceiling. Beyond the staircase is the former parlour, now lounge, which has chamfered granite fireplaces on the north and east walls. That to the north is blocked, and that to the east was rebuilt in 1994, and above it is a piece of worked granite of unknown origin or purpose. To the right of the fireplace is a C21 door to the annexe which was created in 2004 and has no historic features of note.

There are two bedrooms on the first floor within the historic core of the house. The western room has a small alcove on the west wall, and a shelf formed by the historic wall plate in the bedroom and on the landing survives as evidence that the eaves have been raised. The second bedroom again has two pieces of worked granite embedded in the east wall, which were added when the wall was rebuilt in 1994. To the east of the historic core of the house is a first-floor extension constructed in 2008; it has no historic features of note.

The ground-floor ceilings to the northern extensions are matchboard, and those to the staircase hall, dining room and lounge are of softwood joists with exposed floorboards. Door openings are short and are fitted with C20 pitch-pine doors with C20 architraves; external doors are modern and half-glazed. Walls are plastered and painted unless stated, and all flooring is C20 or later.

History

A settlement at Napheane was first recorded in 1300 when it was spelled Nansfyn. This spelling includes the Cornish language elements ‘nans’ meaning valley and ‘fyn’ for boundary and is likely to represent the settlement’s location on the boundary of the manors and tithings of Merthen to the south and Tucoys to the north. ‘Nanffyn’ is recorded in mid-C14 archival estate charters as part of the Manor of Carwythenack, and Charles Henderson gave an account of the early history of ‘Naffene’ (see Sources) from the late-C14 to 1842. Other sources suggest that the farmhouse was occupied in the early C16 by John Neccomb, and in around 1762 Raymond William Rowe turned the house around so that the front elevation faced south. In 1769 the landholding and farm was divided between Lord Falmouth, John Rowe and William Rowe, all of whom paid high rents to the Manor of Carwythenack.

The first historic map to clearly show Napheane Farmhouse is the 1842 Tithe map, where the tenement is labelled as ‘Naphaen’. The map shows the farmhouse as a linear structure lying east to west, with outshuts to the north. To the north again are various smaller farm outbuildings (not included in the List entry). The associated apportionment names the owners of Napheane tenement as Mary Ann Hartley and the Earl of Falmouth, with the occupier of the farmhouse (and most of the land in the tenement including Napheane Downs) being Richard Waters; the 1861 Census describes him as farming 50 acres. By the time of the 1881 Census, Napheane farm’s occupier William Moyle was only farming 12 acres. The 1879 Ordnance Survey (OS) map shows ‘Naphene’, again with two outshuts to the north, and with an additional outbuilding immediately to its east. By the time of the 1907 OS map this building appears to adjoin the farmhouse. In 1891 ‘The Cornishman’ newspaper announced that the properties owned by Lord Falmouth in Constantine were being disposed of, including part of the Napheane estate.

In around 1931 the interior of the farmhouse was updated, retaining much of the original plan, but inserting matchboard partitions and a staircase hall. It is thought that a thatched roof was also removed at this time and replaced with corrugated sheeting. Evidence in the building’s fabric suggests that the eaves were raised but it is unknown when this occurred. The outshuts on the north side of the house were converted to a dairy and bathroom in 1962. A photograph of the house from 1987 shows shallow top-lights under the eaves to the first-floor windows, a corrugated sheet roof, and that the building was limewashed. The farmhouse was extensively renovated in 1994, including the rebuilding of the south elevation and east gable wall in concrete block faced with the reused granite stone. The roof structure was also replaced at this time, laid with natural slate, and the eastern chimney stack rebuilt. Corrugated-sheet roofing to a single-storey structure attached to the east of the house was also replaced with slate and the roof rebuilt. All of the windows were replaced with replica timber sliding-sashes. No alterations were made to the plan of the house.

Napheane was historically within the parish of Constantine; in 1986 the civil parish of Gweek was created and the boundary between the two parishes today runs along the southern elevation of Napheane Farmhouse.

Reasons for Listing

Napheane Farmhouse, near Gweek, Cornwall, which possibly has C17 origins, and was altered in 1762 and partially rebuilt in 1994, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* the farmhouse retains a two-room cross-passage plan which may predate its mid-C18 reorientation;
* the massive granite inglenook fireplace and domed bread oven, and the use of granite in the building’s construction add to its regional distinctiveness;
* despite losses, rebuilding and renovation in the late C20, the building retains its vernacular character as a small farmhouse.

Historic interest:

* as evidence of settlement at Napheane from the C14 to the present.

External Links

• Wikidata Q17535263

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  The Shredded Chef: 120 Recipes for Building Muscle, Getting Lean, and Staying Healthy