Digital Archive from Level 2 Descriptive Historic Building Recording and Archaeological Watching Brief at Parsonage Farm, Nymet Rowland, Crediton, Devon, January - April 2024

This collection comprises images, site records and GIS from a Level 2 Descriptive Historic Building Recording and Archaeological Watching Brief at Parsonage Farm, Nymet Rowland, Crediton, Devon. The work was carried out by ISCA Archaeology from January to April 2024 as part of Listed Building Consent Application 23/01620/LBC. The application includes internal works to the ground floor and reconfiguration of first-floor layout; replacement of existing concrete render with lime render, installation of a French drain and soakaway, and installation of air source heat pump units to the side of the Grade II Listed farmhouse. A total of 4 trenches were dug outside of the property to accommodate the French Drain and soakaway; 3 trenches followed the boundary of the property, and one was within the courtyard. The remaining groundworks focused on the reduction of 3 rooms (the utility room, kitchen and living room) down to a required formation level. The results of the Archaeological Monitoring and Recording Brief indicated that no features or artefacts were present that related to any activity that pre-dated the construction of the present farmhouse, either internally or externally. The four external trenches revealed no archaeological deposits, with the exception of the cobbled surface noted within the courtyard to the northern edge of the property (Trench 4). This cobbled surface is likely to either be contemporary with,or post-dating, the construction of the farmhouse. A fragment of post medieval clay tobacco pipe was recovered from layer sealed by the cobbled surface. Within the parlour an extant cobbled floor surface was noted which extended across the entire room, except for an area behind the front door. The cobbled floor surface clearly butted the present walls of the parlour. Furthermore, clay tobacco pipe recovered from the deposit underlying the cobbles suggests that the surface is later than the existing building and post-medieval in date.