Trist Families of Devon: Volume 5 Their Farmhouses: Trist Families of Devon, #5

By Peter J Trist

This volume will interest people whose ancestors were Devon farmers. It discusses the siting, the exterior and the interior of Devon farmhouses from about 1450 to about 1920.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Peter Trist
• Release date: Nov 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9780648499152

Book preview

Description

This volume will interest people whose ancestors were Devon farmers. It discusses the siting, the exterior and the interior of Devon farmhouses from about 1450 to about 1920.

Trist Families of Devon:

Volume 5

Their Farmhouses

By Peter J. Trist

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system without written permission of the author, except for the inclusions of brief acknowledged quotations in a review, thesis, article or published work.

The author and publisher have used their best efforts in collecting and preparing material for inclusion in Trist Families of Devon: Volume 5: Their Farmhouses but do not warrant that the information herein is complete or accurate, and does not assume, and hereby disclaims any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in Trist Families of Devon: Volume 5: Their Farmhouses whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

Copyright 2023 by Peter J. Trist

Published by Australian e-Book Publishers

ISBN-13 978-0-6484991-5-2

CONTENTS OF OTHER VOLUMES

IN ‘TRIST FAMILIES OF DEVON’

Vol. 1 Research Methods

Vol. 2 What’s In a Name? An Etymology

Origins of Trist Surname

Vol. 3 Medieval

Vol. 4 Forbears: Their Farms & Sidelines

Vol. 6 The Farming Calendar

Daily Life and Work in Devon Farming

Vol. 7 Life in a Farming Community

Everyday life in a farming household (diet, clothing, bereavement & re-marriage, size of families, kinship networks, education, parish governance, litigation etc in a village community)

Vol. 8 Local Gentry & Country Parsons

Genealogy for a Trist politician & various churchmen (Charts 2 & 3)

Volume 9 Politics and Trade in Devon

Plus a genealogy of Trist families on Dartmoor & at South Brent

(Charts 4, 4A, 4B & 4C)

Vol. 10 Farewell to Devon:

Genealogical charts for Devon Trists in USA (Charts 8A & 9); Canada (Chart 8), Australia (Charts 6A & 7); New Zealand (Chart 5)

Vol. 11 Selected Documents, Wills & Court Cases

Vol. 12 Trist Names Index

Including Unresearched Family Groups (UFGs)

GENEALOGICAL CHARTS AND NOTES

Genealogical Charts and Notes are located as follows:

Volume 1

Charts 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D (Harberton, Cornworthy, Dittisham, Dartington)

Chart 2 (Harberton and Totnes)

Chart 9 (Philadelphia, USA)

Volume 8

Chart 2 (Harberton)

Chart 3 (Veryan, Cornwall)

Volume 9

Charts 4, 4A, 4B, 4C (South Brent)

Volume 10

Chart 5 (N.Z.)

Charts 6, 6A (N.S.W. Australia)

Chart 7 (Victoria, Australia)

Chart 8 (Canada & USA)

Chart 8A (USA)

Chart 9 (Philadelphia, USA)

Volume 11

Selected Documents, Wills and Court Records

CONTENTS

TRIST FAMILIES OF DEVON

VOL. 5

THEIR FARMHOUSES

Preface

Introduction to Volume 5

Chapter 1

Forbears & Their Farmhouses

Chapter 2

General Account of Devon Farmhouses and Construction

Chapter 3

Hall Houses and The Housing Revolution of 1575-1700

Chapter 4

A Surviving Devon Cob Farmhouse: Kewsland

Chapter 5

Surviving Trist Farmhouses

Chapter 6

The Farmhouse Interior

Appendix A

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Bibliography

End Notes

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS OF FARMS

VOLUME 5

Fig. 1 Floorplan of a typical 15th century 3-bay cruck-built farmhouse.

Fig. 2 Construction of cob walls and roof tree in cob farmhouse.

Fig. 3 Pilliven Farmhouse at Witheridge

Fig. 4 Pilliven Farmhouse: plan and development stages.

Fig. 5 Pilliven Farmhouse, the cruck truss of the hall.

Fig. 6 Development of the house (insertion of ceiling)

Fig. 7 Bayleaf Farmhouse before dismantling.

Fig. 8 Bayleaf Farmhouse reconstructed as it would have appeared from 1500-1600.

Fig. 9 Cutaway drawing of Bayleaf showing structure and plan.

Fig. 10 Pendean Farmhouse before dismantling.

Fig. 11 Pendean Farmhouse as it would have looked in about 1600.

Fig. 12 Cutaway drawing of Pendean showing structure and plan.

Fig. 13 Artist’s impression of Kewsland Farmhouse as it might have looked shortly after construction in the 15th century.

Fig. 14 Kewsland Farmhouse, showing floorplan and date of completion of its sections.

Fig. 15 Kewsland Farmhouse, Bishops Tawton, Devon. Present external appearance.

Fig. 16 Abandoned Stone Cottage at Dittisham

Fig. 17 Abandoned farmhouse at Idestone Farm, Aveton Gifford, Devon.

Fig. 18 One of the oldest farmhouses at Hernaford Farm, Harberton, Devon.

Fig. 19 Closer up view of oldest house at Hernaford

Fig. 20 Original main farmhouse floorplan at Hernaford, as it was in time of Stephen, and John Trist (Chart1/1& 2). Possibility One.

Fig. 21 Original main farmhouse floorplan at Hernaford, as it was in time of Stephen & John Trist (Chart1/1& 2). Possibility Two

Fig. 22 Main (but not the oldest) farmhouse at Hernaford Farm, Harberton, Devon.

Fig. 23 Court Prior Farm, Cornworthy (farmed by Thomas Trist c. 1619-1702, Chart1/5) for the period 1661-8 and probably by his children inc. Ambrose (1672-1750, Chart 1/42)

Fig. 24 Cornworthy Grist (Corn) Mill at present-day Tuckenhay. Its predecessor operated by Thomas Trist (c. 1619-1702, Chart1/5) and his son Ambrose (1672-1750, Chart 1/42).

Fig. 25 Gitcombe Farmhouse being used as a garage.

Fig. 26 Gitcombe renovated as an extension of Georgian House

Fig. 27 Both houses at Gitcombe in their combe

Fig. 28 House called Thornwell at Dittisham, Devon.

Fig. 29 Langs Cott farmhouse

Fig. 30 Trist Tenements: cottages attached to Kiln and/or Lyons Farm, Dittisham

Fig. 31 1810 Etching by F.C. Lewis of western side of Dittisham including Kiln Farm

Fig. 32 Calculation of Artist’s Vantage Point in drawing the etching described in Figure 31.

Fig. 33 1840 Tithe Redemption Map showing allotment No 230 (Kiln Farmhouse) & 229 allotment

Fig. 34 Modern photo taken from slightly higher vantage point than 1810 etching. Red arrow shows Laneway beside Kiln Farmhouse site.

Fig. 35 Lower Allerton farmhouse at Dartington, Devon.

Chapter 6 Farmhouse Interior

Fig. 36 Plan of Example Farmhouse with backlet and farmyard (based on Bremridge described in Chapter 5).

Fig. 37 Artist’s impression of Bremridge as it might have looked shortly after construction in the mid-15 th century

Fig. 38 Plan of Bremridge [Example Farm] showing floorplan & date of completion of its sections

Fig. 39 Exterior of Bremridge Farm in the twentieth century (on which Example Farm is based) viewed from the south

Fig. 40 Functions of Example Farmhouse ca 1400-1575.

Fig. 41 Functions of Example Farmhouse ca 1575-1775.

Fig. 42 Functions of Example Farmhouse ca 1775 onwards.

Fig. 43 The cobbled cross passage with panelled ceiling at Prowse Farmhouse, Sandford, Devon.

Fig. 44 Cross passage at Lower Allerton Farmhouse, Dartington, looking towards front door.

Fig. 45 Cross Passage at Lower Allerton looking towards back door

Fig. 46 Artist’s impression of the hall of Example Farmhouse ca 1600. Looking towards hearth)

Fig. 47 Artist’s impression of the hall of Example Farmhouse ca 1600 (Looking towards the dairy)

Fig. 48 Spice cupboard built into the thickness of the cob wall

Fig. 49 Studded staircase door at Example Farmhouse (Bremridge).

Fig. 50 Devon bacon settle

Fig. 51 Close up of traditional Devon fireplace

Fig. 52 The Hall at Bayleaf before it was ceiled. Furnished with replicas of furniture ca 1540.

Fig. 53 Part of farmhouse parlour

Fig. 54 The present lounge (previously ‘parlour’ and one-time ‘hall’) at Lower Allerton Farmhouse, Dartington.

Fig. 55 Kitchen looking towards the hearth

Fig. 56 Kitchen looking towards the cross-passage.

Fig. 57 A cloam oven

Fig. 58 Taming of a wide fireplace

Fig. 59 Hewlands: showing the dairy (or buttery) and dairy equipment

Fig. 60 A cream oven

Fig. 61 Staircase & passage to bedroom chambers

Fig. 62 Hewlands: the principal bedroom

Fig. 63 Bedroom chamber at Hewlands showing chest.

Fig. 64 Bedroom at Lower Allerton Farm

Fig. 65 Bedroom and Passage way at top of stairs at Lower Allerton

PREFACE

This is the fifth volume in a series attempting to write a social history of Trist families in Devon. It is the second of four volumes devoted to farming and village life in the Tudor, Stuart and Georgian eras (roughly 1530-1830). This social history is not unique to the Trist family. Nearly all English-speaking families today would have had many forbears who followed a similar way of life in a rural community.

Amateur historians have many varied and personal reasons for starting a family history. My own motivation has been simply to satisfy my curiosity. How did each generation of my forbears live their lives? Discovering each link in the chain and joining them together into a coherent narrative, from past to present, has motivated my writing of this family history.

My motivation owes very little to genetics because a surname is a legal, not a biological, construct. I cannot claim any close genetic connection with any of my ancestors except perhaps my parents. Modern biological science tells us that the gene pool is halved with each passing generation, roughly every twenty-five years. Consequently, even my paternal grandfather is seventy-five per cent biologically different from myself, even though the male surname remains unchanged. After only one hundred years, or three generations, the resemblance is down to about twelve per cent. By the fourth generation what remains of the original gene pool is so negligible that one’s ancestors should really be considered as genetic strangers. My genetic similarity to Richard Trist, my great-great-great grandfather born in 1763 is theoretically a mere three per cent, so that he is genetically quite a different person. Any biological resemblance we may have is insignificant and roughly equivalent to my thirty-one other forbears of the same vintage from whom I am also descended, most of whom I have not identified. For this reason, we cannot really claim an identity with our ancestors on a biological basis. The idea that one can inherit a blood-line is illusory: a mirage created linguistically by the inherited surname.

Whilst a one-name study is largely independent of genetics, it is a lot more relevant when considered from a social and local point of view. Suppose that I could investigate the lives of all thirty-one of my forbears back to 1763. What would I find? In all probability, their social histories would be remarkably similar to those of the Trist families described in the next four volumes. Most people in the pastoral age married (and were usually obliged by community pressure to marry) within their own social class and did not generally move very far away from their parents’ parish.1 There was considerably less social and geographical mobility than there is today. Consequently, the experiences of one family would be subject to the same influences as other families belonging to the same social class living in the same region at the same time.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the way that my forbears were housed. For the vast majority of country people building materials were locally sourced. Modern materials like concrete, faced stone, kiln-fired clay bricks and terracotta tiles lay well into the industrial future. Nearly all Devon houses, almost regardless of the wealth of their owners, were constructed of wood, cob and straw thatch. These locally available materials imposed limits on the design which usually consisted of a three room dwelling with one heated living room (known as the hall), a