Combe Martin History and Heritage Project - Combemartinvillage.co.uk

West Challacombe Manor, Combe Martin

West Challacombe Manor, West Challacombe Lane, Combe Martin, North Devon, England EX34 0DS

Introduction

West Challacombe Manor at Combe Martin is classified as a Grade Two Star monument by Historic England. Probably begun by the Challacombe family in the fourteenth-century, it is a remarkably fine example of a small manor house from the Medieval period up to the late 15th century (British Listed Buildings, 2024).

The manor house's exceptional false-hammer-beam timber roof structure, dendrochronogically (tree-ring) dated to between 1449 and 1474, is an important feature. The masterpiece is similar to Westminster Hall's true hammer-beam roof commissioned in 1393.

West Challacombe Manor's porch bears a faded escutcheon which includes the arms of both the Prouse or Pruz and Orchard families. This coat of arms suggests that John Prouse came to own West Challacombe Manor, through his marriage to Jane or Joan Orchard in about 1475.

West Challacombe Manor faces south and has outbuildings, also of an early date, in the same direction. It was first listed by Historic England in March 1953, although the listing might not represent the current condition of the site after modifications by contemporary owners.

Part of Combe Martin's silver-lead mining history, there is evidence of a silver-lead mine in the area of West Challacombe. Working in the 1850s, this is known locally as the West Combe Martin Mine.

The New Combe Martin Silver-Lead mine was reopened at West Challacombe in 1864, but saw little to no production and ultimately failed.

Further efforts to rework the mine at West Challacombe began in 1874, involving the Combe Martin Silver-Lead Mining Co., the General Mining Investment Co., and later the West Combe Martin Mining Co (Exmoor National Park HER MDE8262).

Recommended Historic Records

A comprehensive description of West Challacombe Manor (monument) can be read at The Historic Environment Record for Exmoor National Park:

HER MDE20391 - West Challacombe Farm (Building).

Name spellings vary in historical records. West Challacombe Manor is exceptional because only about 5.8% of all such listed buildings fall into the Grade 2 Star category (Historic England, Listed Buildings, 2024).

Ownership

Now a farm house, West Challacombe Manor is described as having origins in the fifteenth-century. It was probably built by the Challacombe family in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries (Exmoor National Park HER MDE20391).

According to Devon topographer Thomas Westcote (alias Westcott, c. 1567 – c. 1637), West Challacombe Manor was "the seat of Pruz [Prouz/Prouse of Chagford]" in the year 1630 (A View of Devonshire in 1630).

The Prouse (or Pruz) family, of Chagford on the edge of Dartmoor, is a historical family noted in local records and genealogical studies. The Prouse family was associated with land ownership and local governance.

The Prouses were part of the gentry class, which included landowners and individuals with influence in the community.

Westcote's writings are significant for historians and genealogists interested in Devon's local history and heritage. They provide insights into the land ownership, social structures, and notable figures of the early 17th century.

National Trust: West Challacombe Manor.

Prouse Genealogy and Prouse Family History Information.

Memoir prefixed to the View of Devonshire, 1845; Prince's Worthies of Devon, 1701, p. 585; Vivian's Visitations of Devon, p. 778.

The Historic Environment Record for Exmoor National Park: MDE20391 - West Challacombe Farm (Building).

During the medieval period, a family seat referred to the inherited residence or estate of an aristocratic family, which was often handed down through generations. This place was the hub of the family’s authority, wealth, and influence (ikołaj Szołtysek, 2015).

Szołtysek, Oxford Academic: Households and Family Systems.

West Challacombe Manor: A Historical Overview of A Family Seat

In the historical record, the term “family seat” made its first appearance in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was referred to as “caput” [Latin "head or "top"] meaning the principal manor of a lord. In some cases the family seat was a manor house (House of Names, 2024).

Referring to West Challacombe Manor, the topographer Tristram Risdon (c.1580-1640) wrote in his lifelong chorography of Devon (c.1632) that "in this parish of Combmartin, is 'Orchard', the dwelling, in ancient time, of a family so named".

"The last of the [Orchard] line left his heritage to his only daughter and heir, Jane [or Joan], married unto John Prouse [also known as Prouz or Pruz], of Chagford, whereby these lands were transplanted into that name, in which it remaineth" (Risdon, T., publ. 1811).

Risdon, Tristram. The Chorographical Description Or Survey of the County of Devon. Manuscript completed c. 1632. Published 1811 by Rees and Curtis, Plymouth.

In the 18th century, the house and holding was split and run by Combe Martin families the Crangs and Lerwills (Reilly, R., Historic England, 2006).

Grade 2 Star Rating

Grade 2 Star (II*) rated monuments are usually distinguished by their outstanding craftsmanship, and according to Historic England they frequently stand in their original condition. Moreover, they may have historical significance such as being the former residence of a person of note.

See the National Trust Heritage Records: Farmstead, Farmhouse, West Challacombe˃

The Historic Environment Record for Exmoor National Park: MDE20391˃

West Challacombe Manor in Parish Records

The manor estate was subsequently transferred from the Challacombes to the Orchard and Prouz families. The Challacombe family has a long history in Combe Martin, with over 157 entries in Combe Martin St. Peter ad Vincula Church registers beginning in 1747.

Parish registers were introduced on 5th Sept 1538 by Thomas Cromwell, advisor to Henry VIII (Pounds, N.J.G., 2000). The Orchard family also has a long history in Combe Martin, with seven confirmed entries in Combe Martin St. Peter ad Vincula Church registers beginning in 1782.

Construction and Additions

West Challacombe Manor is built of painted rendered stone rubble and cob, with nineteenth-century extensions of coursed rubble. The cruck barn -or crook frame of curved timber supporting the roof of a building- on the eastern side of the house, dates to around the first half of the 14th century.

By c.1400 there was a house with a central hall and two wings, and the building was remodelled in the 17th and 19th centuries. When it was first listed in March 1953, the small manor house was little altered since the 19th century.

According to the Historic England listing, the house has a 16th century porch and the rear stair turret is probably 17th century. The ground floor appears to be mainly 19th century, with surviving 15th century through-passage.

The rear opening, approached by some steps, is ashlar, chamfered - a right-angled edge or corner - and with a rebate for the door. On the first floor, a plaster panel on the east gable wall bears the date 1732 (the reign of George II); this room was probably the first inserted into the open hall (Historic England, 2023).

Architectural Features and History

The emblem displayed on the manor’s porch is divided into six sections, with the arms of both the prominent Prouz [Prouse, Prowse] and Orchard families included among them.

Historic England states that Challacombe Manor is an "exceptionally significant survival", especially its roof.

Some of the outbuildings in the eastern courtyard at West Challacombe date back to the late 14th to mid-15th centuries.

According to the Historic Environment Record for Exmoor National Park, the manor's original layout featured a central hall flanked by cross ranges at both ends. During the 15th century, the existing hall was reconstructed between these cross ranges.

The east range no longer exists, while the modified west range remains. Subsequent additions include a mid-16th-century porch and 17th-century flooring and windows (Exmoor National Park HER MDE20391).

In 1900, Ward, Lock and Company, a successful London publishing house, claimed in their North Devon guidebook that "the farmstead was built partly inside an old abbey or church". While this is interesting, we found no evidence of any links with local churches or abbeys.

West Challacombe Manor Roof

A new hall with a magnificent roof was built between the two wings. The manor's false-hammer-beam timber roof structure is an important feature, and it has been dendrochronogically (tree-ring) dated to between 1449 and 1474 (Baylock, S. R., 2004).

Roofs similar in grandeur to West Challacombe Manor's false-hammer-beam roof are found at Weare Giffard Hall, Torridge, and Orleigh Court at Buckland Brewer. Another possible candidate is Orchard Wyndham near Williton in Somerset, rivalling those in the Exeter area.

SEM6915 Report: Blaylock, S.R.. 2004. The Medieval Roof of the Former Open Hall at West Challacombe, Combe Martin, Devon. Exeter Archaeology.

The Prouz Family

Genealogy records state that John Prouz [Prowse] was born about 1456 at Chagford. He was Lord of Chagford, and was married 1472/1475 to Joan Orchard, daughter of John Orchard (d. 1480). The aristocratic marriage may account for the manor's grand false-hammer-beam roof.

The Prouz family had influence in the ancient town and civil parish of Chagford, demonstrated by the memorials dedicated to the Prouse family in Chagford St Michael’s Church (GENUK). Chagford Local History Society (2024) states that the Prouz family were connected by marriage to William the Conqueror.

In the Lady Chapel is a wooden model of an Esquire's helmet, used in funeral processions by members of the Prouz family of Waye Barton (Chagford Local History Society, 2024). The Prouz family monument stands in St Michael's Church south aisle. It is decorated with the coats of arms to which the family claimed an affiliation (St Michael's Church, Chagford).

West Challacombe Manor's False-Hammer-Beam Roof

West Challacombe Manor's crowning glory false-hammer-beam roof, an exceptional survival from the fifteenth-century, is similar in design to Westminster Hall's true hammer-beam roof commissioned in 1393 by Richard II.

In the case of false-hammer-beam roofs, the hammer post is not present on the hammer beam, a characteristic often seen in a type of arch-brace truss. Alternatively, the design may feature the hammer beam connecting into the hammer post, rather than the hammer post resting on the hammer beam (Wood, Margaret: The English Mediaeval House, 1980, 1965).

Medieval aristocrats in England are known to have adorned structures of various purposes with expensive hammer-beam roofs, which showcased not only their architectural practicalities but also the craftsmanship of contemporary carpenters (Parliament UK ; Brittanica, 2024).

Research Report from 2006

For Historic England in 2016, Hazel Riley reported: "In 1475 Joan or Jane Orchard of West Challacombe married John Prouz of Chagford, the new hall and its roof perhaps commemorating this propitious marriage: certainly the Prouz family were of some substance at this time".

"West Challacombe remained in the Prouz family until the mid 17th century. In the 18th century the house and holding was subdivided and run by the Crang and Lerwill families. It remained so until the late 19th century (Berry 2002, 2-3)" (Riley R., 2006. Research Report).

See Historic England Research Report Series no. 6-2016: Little Hangman and Challacombe Common, Exmoor National Park: Two possible earlier Neolithic enclosures on western Exmoor.

The lavish roof style is linked to the period, since another example is the Great Hall of Eltham Palace (1470s, Edward IV), where Henry VIII spent much of his boyhood.

West Challacombe Manor in Old Texts

Victorian author and Dartmoor expert John Lloyd Warden Page visited West Challacombe Manor. Knowing nothing of its history, Page commented in his guidebook dated 1895:

"Look at the deep porch, pierced with loopholes for musketry, that must be as old as the days of Queen Bess at any rate ! And look at the weathered escutcheon of six quarterings in the gable overhead."

"It bears the arms of more than one family of note. Round it runs a motto, but, beyond one word which appears to be "Prouz" (the name, by the way, of a race that once held Gidleigh Castle [manor house] on the borders of Dartmoor), it is too worn to be legible."

[According to antiquary Sir William Pole (1561–1635), the Prouz family held the manor of Gidleigh from at least the later half of the 12th century. Today, only part of Gidleigh Castle's small keep survives on private land, about two miles from Chagford.]

Warden Page continues: "[West Challacombe Manor's] inner arch, opening into the hall, dates, it would seem, from the sixteenth century, and the dark oaken door is ornamented with carvings in high relief, representing a male and a female figure, on their heads [are] queer coronets full of fruit and flowers."

"These carvings are evidently of later date than the door, to which they have been attached, and look like specimens of the debased art of the next century. The back of the door is strengthened with cross-pieces, and the sockets for the great wooden bar still remain in the walls on either side" (John L. Warden Page, The Coasts of Devon and Lundy Island, 1895).

In 1900, Ward, Lock and Company Ltd published A pictorial and descriptive guide to Bideford, Clovelly, Hartland, Barnstaple, Ilfracombe and North-West Devon : eight maps and plans, sixty illustrations. Of West Challacombe Manor, Ward and Lock wrote:

"There is a farmstead. West Challacombe, close to the village, built partly inside an old abbey or church [allegedly], the oak roof of which may be seen in the passage at the back of the living-rooms."

"The front door is of worm-eaten oak, and on the panels are figures of a gentleman and a lady, apparently of the Stuart period. West Challacombe is now a private residence." (Ward Lock & Company, London, 1900).

The Eighteenth-Century

In 1728, Grace Peard of West Challacombe married Walter Lerwill, marking the beginning of dual-family occupancy in the house. Initially, it was divided between Grace and her sister Susan, who married John Crang (Blaylock, S. and Richardson, I., 1999).

A bedroom was added to the east end of the hall, and in the later 18th century, a dairy was constructed at the northeast corner. During the early 19th century, the ground floor of the hall and the west wing were reconfigured into formal square rooms.

A cottage was added to the east end of the barn on the west side, and a kitchen wing was built where the east wing once stood. By the late 19th or early 20th century, the hall had been divided into bedrooms, with new windows and staircases installed.

SEM8526 Unpublished document: Blaylock, S. and Richardson, I.. 1999. The study of the historic development of West Challacombe.

Refurbished in the 1990s

In the 1990s, the National Trust refurbished the property, removing the first-floor bedrooms in the old hall and updating the kitchen, bathrooms, and other services.

West Challacombe Manor is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Prospecting for Silver

Prospecting for silver lead was happening in the mid 1850's at West Challacombe Silver Lead Mine. The workings are now very much overgrown and only the spoil heap is visible.

The West Challacombe Mine extended beyond this single site, encompassing a tract of land, or "sett," which defined the mine's boundaries.

This area also included various shafts, adits, and open works along the coastline, stretching from Lester Point (SS 5751 4762) to Little Hangman at SS 5851 4806 (Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record MDE8262).

Refer to the Historic Environment Record for Exmoor National Park #MDE8262>.

Conclusion

West Challacombe Manor stands as a testament to the rich history and architectural heritage of Combe Martin and North Devon. West Challacombe is also woven in with Combe Martin silver-lead mining.

From its origins in the 14th century, through its association with notable families like the Challacombes, Orchards, and Prouzes, the West Challacombe Manor has witnessed centuries of change and adaptation.

The manor's Grade Two Star status highlights exceptional craftsmanship and its historical significance. Today, as a preserved farmhouse and popular retreat, it continues to offer a glimpse into the medieval past, showcasing the enduring legacy of its former inhabitants and the district's architectural heritage.