In
many ways the history of West Lynch Farm is somewhat of a mystery. Although
it is undoubtedly an ancient dwelling place, there is no pre 19th C
documentary evidence relating directly to the Farm. This includes the
Chapel, about which nothing is known prior to its restoration in 1885.
Previous to this it had been used as a barn, possibly since the Reformation;
and even its dedication has been forgotten. However, due to its various
characteristics and studies of local field patterns, it is generally
agreed that West Lynch Farm was the manor house of Bossington.
BOSSINGTON
MANOR
Around
900AD Bossington appears to have been given to Athelney Abbey by King
Alfred.
Bossington
Manor is mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086); of particular interest
is that in the case of Bossington the Domesday Book was in error! The
Book states that in the time of Edward the Confessor the Manor was still
held by the Abbey “and it was set aside for the monks food”,
and that after the Conquest it was given to a Ralph de Limesei. However,
contrary to this, ample evidence shows that either the Abbey lost Bossington
for only a short time, or more likely, never lost it at all, and that
Bossington was held by the Abbey right up to the Reformation (1536).
At
some point the Abbey ceased to have direct involvement with Bossington
and ‘rented’ out the Manor and its manorial rights and dues
to private individuals, the first recorded being a Talbot de Etfeld
in 1146.
From
1452-1694 the Sydenham family held Bossington, after the Reformation
held “of the Crown” rather than “of the Abbey”.
From
1745-1944 West Lynch Farm and most of Bossington (as part of the Holnicote
Estate) belonged to the Acland family; in 1944 it became National Trust
property.
Luckily,
the buildings themselves can tell us something about their past, and
the lives of those who lived and worked there.
THE
HOUSE
Late
Medieval : the Open-Hall House The earliest identifiable phase
of the House is characteristic of the late 1400’s. Whether there
was a dwelling here previous to this is impossible to say, although
this is an area of extremely ancient settlement patterns. The positions
of smoke-blackened roof trusses show that before the introduction of
chimneys the central part of the House was an open-hall. This was a
ground floor room open to the roof timbers, necessary to allow smoke
from an open-hearth fire to escape through openings in the roof.
On
either side of the open-hall were two floored ends; here the roof trusses
show no evidence of smoke. The first floors of these 2 ends would not
have been connected, and there is evidence of 2 external stair-turrets
on each end of the back of the House. Neither of these stair-turrets
is in existence now, but a small wooden lancet window, with a diamond
shaped head, can be seen high up at the S end of the rear wall of the
House. This is the window of one of these stair-turrets, and if you
look closely you can see where the turret wall has been incorporated
into the present wall.
The
main front door probably dates from the late 15th C or early 16th C.
This door was not designed to be opened from the outside, and on the
inside is a heavy sliding timber bar that acted as an extremely large
bolt; security was obviously an important consideration when this door
was installed! Typical of an open-hall house of this time, this is the
front door of a cross-passage that went straight across the House to
a back door. The passage no longer exists, but the opposite back door
remains, the frame (though not the door) comparable to that of the front;
this doorway is now contained within a later extension to the House.
On the N side of this cross-passage was the ‘lower’ or service
end of the House. On its S side was the open-hall, on the other side
of which was the ‘upper’ or private end of the House.
The
basic construction and external walls (about 70cms thick) have remained
unaltered since the House was built. Essentially it is of a jointed
cruck construction with 5 pairs of jointed cruck-trusses. These are
still present and visible in the roof space and in places on the first
floor. The roof was thatched, with a slightly steeper pitch than it
has now.
Other
early features include the chamfered trusses, beams and purlins, the
partial survival of a plank and muntin partition (or screen) belonging
to the cross-passage, and wattle and daub infill between the roof trusses.
From
1452-1694 the Sydenham family held Bossington Manor, and it
is they who probably built the House. It does not seem that the Sydenhams
ever lived in their manor house; the House was probably occupied by
their Steward, but for its time and place it was still a dwelling of
high status and great comfort.
Mixed
farming would have been practised; sheep and cattle were very important,
and the main crops grown were wheat, barley, great oats and grey peas.
The people living here would have also exploited their natural surroundings
by hunting, fowling and fishing.
The
17th Century During the late 16th C or early 17th C the 3 chimneystacks
were added, and the open-hall floored over, using the chamfered beams
still visible in the ceiling of the main ground floor room. A stair-turret
was added, situated slightly to the N of the middle of the rear wall
of the House, containing a half spiral staircase (still in use today).
It is probably at this point that the stair-turret at the N end of the
House was abandoned; the one at the S end probably remained in use.
The House would have become warmer, drier and less smoky, with the new
first floor providing more space. Life in the House would have become
far more comfortable. The next major upgrade of the heating system was
the installation of central heating in 1994!
The
window to the right of the main front door is probably early 16th C;
for its time it is far too ornate for a service room, and there is evidence
that originally it consisted of 4 window-lights. It is possible that
this was once the window of the open-hall, re-used when the chimneystack
on the front of the house was added.
The
19th Century The next major changes to the House were made
at the beginning of the 19th C, with a modernisation and remodelling
of the S or private end of the House. The second front door was added,
leading on to new straight-run flight of stairs. The upstairs rooms
were remodelled partly to accommodate the new stairway, and the old
stairway in the N turret blocked up.
The
present windows at the front of the House (except the kitchen window)
date from this time; the attractively shaped downstairs windows had
interior shutters and panelling, some still in place. Many of the existing
interior panelled doors are also part of this remodelling.
Recently,
during redecoration, it was discovered that the skirting boards of the
central ground floor were made of slate, concealed under layers of paint.
This was probably installed at this time and is unusual; although slate
skirting boards are a feature of the 1800’s they are generally
found in kitchen or service rooms. The present occupiers find that they
have a problem with rising damp in this room; could this be a problem
as old as the House, and the use of slate a 19th C residents attempt
to stop his skirting boards rotting?
It
was later on in this century that changes were made to the layout of
the ground floor, bringing an end to the cross-passage.
For
most of the 19th C the Ridler family occupied the House as tenant farmers
to the Aclands. Sheep and cattle were still very important, and their
main crops were wheat, barley and turnips; barley became of particular
importance in the later part of the century when the Porlock Vale area
became famous for its top quality barley. During the 19th C developments
in mechanisation, transportation and food processing were transforming
agricultural life at a pace never seen before, and the Ridlers must
have seen many changes.
It
was during this century that Sir Thomas Dyke Acland the Xth Baronet
was responsible for the creation of the woodland (including evergreen
oaks) on the hillsides opposite the front of the House. This transformed
a landscape previously devoid of trees (fields and open moorland), a
landscape that is now very hard to imagine. His successor Sir Thomas
Dyke Acland the XIth, was responsible for the restoration of the Chapel
in 1885.
The
20th end 21st Centuries The extension on the N gable wall of
the House was built at the beginning of the 20th century. This was a
purpose built dairy; sited here and overshadowed by the House, this
room remains cool in all but the hottest weather. Other remaining features
typical of a dairy are slate shelving and double-paned windows. At the
end of the 19th C and the beginning of the 20th many farms invested
in dairy farming as a response to economic factors, in particular the
slump in arable farming and the lure of new milk markets.
At
some time during the early part of the 20th C the thatch was replaced
with tiles. If you look at the top of the N gable wall, you can clearly
see where the roof has been raised about 40cms to accommodate this new
form of roofing material.
The
Robbins family were the main tenants during the first half of the 20th
C, and in 1944 Sir Richard Dyke Acland the XVth Baronet gave the Holnicote
Estate (including West Lynch Farm) to the National Trust.
The
Rawles were the last farming tenants (1953-1980), and in 1980, for the
first time in its long history West Lynch Farm ceased to be a working
farm. With the Steeds as tenants it became a Farmpark (now with only
about 6-7 acres) and dependant on the income of paying visitors.
In
1994 the Powells took over the tenancy, developing the House for B&B
and setting up Exmoor Falconry & Animal Farm. The Falconry
and its activities would have been far more familiar to the original
inhabitants of the House than to the vast majority of today’s
visitors. When the present House was built falconry and
hawking were still a very important part of medieval life, not purely
as a sport but also an important means of obtaining fresh meat. The
Goshawk (known as the “Cook’s Bird”) was of particular
importance for providing table meat. The hunting habits of the Goshawk
are similar to those of the Harris Hawks which today accompany guests
on Hawking Experiences.
By
the time the chimneystacks were added to the House around the start
of the 17th C, hawking and falconry was on the decline, mainly due to
the increasing use of guns. During the 18th C the sight of a trained
bird of prey at work had become a rarity, with few active falconers
remaining in the British Isles.
Today,
the future of falconry is largely dependant on the appreciation of falconry
as an art, and as a unique opportunity to experience interaction with
birds of prey. Please visit our History of Falconry exhibition
in Chapel Yard Mews - full of pictures and information about the highs
and lows of falconry pursuits through the millenium.
THE
OUTBUILDINGS
The
majority of the farm buildings date from between 1876+1889, built by
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland the XIth who had succeeded his father in 1871.
The
Stockhouse This is the building directly opposite and running
parallel to the rear of the House. This building has been much altered
over time, but elements of it probably date back to the 16th C. It could
have been originally built as a detached kitchen for the House (at one
time a common practise); inside there is some evidence of an internal
stack on the rear wall. Its general appearance today is of a 19th C
stockhouse, used to house the more valuable livestock.
Of
particular interest are some of the windows. The 2 windows at the front,
one set directly above the other, are very early. They have identical
frameworks although the mullion and bars are missing from the one above.
If you look at the lower window it can be seen that the frame has been
packed with pieces of slate, which suggests that these windows have
probably been reused from elsewhere. At the rear of the building is
another very early window, this one of a very heavy chamfered construction
with diagonal stops at the ends of each chamfer. These 3 windows are
somewhat out of character for an outbuilding of their time, and have
probably been reused, possibly from the House itself.
The
Linhay This is the round-pillared building in the yard by the
Chapel, which joins onto the S end of House. The Linhay was built as
an open-fronted animal shelter with a store for hay above. There are
7 large round stone pillars at the front, the ends of the floor beams
visible at the front of these pillars. The pillars at the lower end
of the Linhay have been concealed by later infilling with rubblestone
to make a stable area. There are problems dating this building, but
it is probably 17th C
.The
Linhay and the yard attached to it would have provided a convenient
way to shelter and feed livestock, the nearby threshing barn providing
straw for litter. It would also have been of great importance as an
efficient means of accumulating manure, vital for the fertility of the
fields.
The
similar round pillared frontage of the smaller linhay at the bottom
of the yard is of a later date (probably late 19th C).
The
Threshing Barn Instantly recognisable by its huge pairs of
opposing doors, it is difficult to date as the whole roof structure
has been renewed, but it is probably 17th C or early18th C. This barn
was specifically built for the process of threshing (the separation
of the ears of grain from their stalks) by hand with flails, the sole
means of threshing until the 19th C.
The
threshing floor lay directly between the 2 pairs of doors, sheaves of
unthreshed corn were stored on one side of the floor, and threshed straw
for use as animal litter on the other side. Day by day during the winter
sheaves were opened onto the threshing floor, beaten with the hand-flails,
the straw residue lifted to one side, and the separated ears winnowed
by the natural draught between the doors.
Early
attempts at pest control can be seen with the owl hole at the top of
the gable wall facing the House, and the cat holes in the doors. If
trained birds of prey were available they were sometimes housed in barns
during moulting; during this time they were generally not flown, but
housed untethered in an “airy chamber” or barn and kept
well fed to encourage the rapid re-growth of their plumage. The birds
would have no doubt added to their diet any pests within the barn.
The
right hand door of the W pair of doors has a decorative grille covering
a small opening. This would have once held a large stoplock; the contents
of a threshing barn were valuable and were securely kept – in
medieval records the most common reason for the purchase of a lock was
for a barn or granary.
The
Barn has been adapted over time, first to accommodate the threshing
machinery powered by the horse-engine (see later). In 1960 the huge
sliding doors were inserted at the S end of the Barn to allow for the
farm machinery of the time.
The
modern thatch is of combed wheat reed; the underside of the thatch overhang
above the E pair of doors has been finished with bundles of wheat reed
with the ears still attached – an appropriate decoration for a
threshing barn.
The
Horse-Engine Barn This is the thatched roundhouse attached
to the W side of the threshing barn. This was built between 1876+1889
(evidence from maps) as part of major developments carried out to the
farm buildings by Sir Thomas Dyke Acland the XIth Baronet.
From
the early years of the 19th C threshing machines had been developed
that carried out threshing, winnowing and grading in one operation.
These machines were most commonly powered by horses (also by water-mill,
and on the largest farms by stationary steam engines). Although threshing
by hand was still common, especially on smaller farms, these developments
were of great concern to farm workers as it was hand threshing that
kept them employed during the winter months.
The
horse-engine housed in the well-ventilated roundhouse would have consisted
of a large overhead crown wheel in a horizontal position, set on a revolving
vertical post. Horses were harnessed below this crown wheel and were
walked round and round in a circle, thus powering the threshing machine
set in the threshing barn (or other barn machinery) via a drive-shaft
(or belt) and gearing system.
To
build a horse-engine barn at this late stage of the 19th C is somewhat
unusual. By this time developments in steam engines (in particular portable
ones taken from farm to farm) had largely replaced horse powered barn
machinery. It was also during this period that the acreage attached
to West Lynch Farm dropped from over 50 acres to under 40, somewhat
small to warrant the expense of such an installation. Perhaps the idea
was that income could be gained by renting out the use of the machinery
to the many other small farms in the area, which might have found the
use of steam power uneconomical. At this time across the road from the
Farm, at Upper West Lynch, there was a thriving corn mill and malting
business owned by the Clarke family; possibly there was some link with
this.
During
the 20th C the internal combustion engine made both horse and
steam power obsolete, and the horse-engine machinery was removed. The
development of field machinery such as combine harvesters saw the barn
activities of threshing and winnowing etc taken completely away from
the barn, and out into the fields as part of one harvesting process.
The
Granary This is the rectangular building standing alone between
the yard at the back of the House and the yard containing the roundhouse.
The present building is a granary, rebuilt between 1876+1889 on an earlier
building. This rebuild was carried out using large irregular reddish
sandstone blocks; locally this was a type of stone used in construction
during the late 19th C. Some of the other buildings of this period,
such as the animal shelters that partially enclose the roundhouse, can
be identified by the presence of this stone.
Parts
of the lower sections of 3 of the walls are of small roughly coursed
stones with larger ones at the corners, the stone very different in
type to that used in the rebuild. These are the remains of the walls
of an earlier building on which the granary was constructed; on a 1809-1812
Holnicote Estate map a smaller building is shown on this site.
The
grain was kept on the upper floor, the ground floor probably used to
store farm implements. Today it is used to house birds of prey at night
and in bad weather.
THE
GROUNDS
The
grounds and gardens are currently undergoing careful restoration to
reflect the historical character of the property. The walled garden
has a new herb garden created within it, for herbs and salads used within
the house; the car park field has recently been planted as an orchard
in keeping with the old maps, and the gardens are being lovingly restored
to reflect the ancient character of this beautiful Grade II Listed property.
We
do hope you enjoy your visit, and that you will return again shortly
to take advantage of the renovations and developments that are constantly
being undertaken.
‘THE HERB GARDEN’
Remember
to visit our organic herb shop where you can purchase dried organic
herbs, home-made herb mixes, jams and honeys, and find Trevarno Organic
hand-made soaps and aromatherapy products.
Written
by: Teresa Pratt January 2002
Produced by
Exmoor Falconry & Animal Farm © 2008
