Boathouse

Summary

A boathouse built on a grand scale, probably before the Second World War, with three wide timber double doors opening onto the foreshore of South Pool Creek. The upper balcony and wide cedar-shingle-hung gable end lend the building a distinctly United States colonial character. Robustly built with steel beams, stone supporting walls and a timber roof structure, it combines durability with elegance. The cast iron 'Tortoise' stove on the first floor, once used to heat the space, is an unusual survival.

Reasons for Designation

The boathouse at Gullet Farm, South Pool, Devon, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a substantial and largely unaltered example of its type;
* as a well-executed design, deriving its style and materials from North American architecture, with a prominent shingle-hung gable front and balustraded balcony to the first floor and sturdy double timber plank doors below, articulated by rubble stone pilasters;
* for the survival inside of a cast-iron “Tortoise” stove by Charles Portway and Son to the interior.

Historic interest:

* as a representation of the increasing popularity of marine leisure pursuits during the period, when larger boathouses were constructed for social use rather than for commercial fishing, often with careful attention to the architectural design and proximity to the main house;
* as part of the country estate of Ian MacDonald, son of the architect Robert Falconer MacDonald, and grandson of George MacDonald, the notable C19 poet and author.

History

The site of Gullet Farmhouse is shown on the 1840 tithe map for South Pool Parish as a small collection of buildings by the foreshore on Southpool Creek with other farm buildings in the landscape around it. In 1925, Ian and Helen MacDonald, bought the 155-acre peninsula including the farm, farmhouse and associated buildings. MacDonald commissioned his late father’s practice, Read and MacDonald of London, to renovate the farmhouse, but following a fire in 1928 the house had to be rebuilt again to Read and MacDonald plans.

As part of a broader vision for the estate, new buildings were introduced to the farm, creating a modern dairy farm designed to move farming activity away from the domestic environment of the farmhouse. By the outbreak of the Second World War, in which both of Ian and Helen MacDonald served, the improved farm estate was fully established.

The boathouse was likely constructed during the 1930s following the quarrying of stone at this location for use in other estate buildings. It is shown on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1953. In the C21, the boathouse has a replacement metal sheet roof covering and concrete slipway laid on the foreshore.

Details

A boathouse, of probable inter-war date.

MATERIALS: constructed on a concrete slab with coursed stone walls and with steel beams. The gable end is clad in cedar shingles, and timber the roof structure is covered in a corrugated metal sheeting.

DESCRIPTION: rectangular on plan, the boathouse provides boat storage to both floors, with loft storage above, accessed by an internal staircase. The boathouse faces east onto the South Pool Estuary.

The main three-bay elevation has three sets of double plank doors with strap hinges to the ground floor. These are divided by two stone columns, with stone flank walls forming the outer bays. Above, a timber balcony spans the width of the building, set within a wide, shingle-hung gable. A central timber door with timber casements on either side opens onto the balcony, which is accessed via external timber steps from a footpath connecting to the main house.

The interior of the ground floor has steel I-beams supporting the timber floor above. Along the rear wall is a pine lateral staircase that provides access between floors. The first floor is mainly open to the timber roof structure, which is boarded between the rafters and with supporting and pine posts resting on concrete paving slabs. There is pine matchboarding around the stairwell and to the back wall below a casement. The first floor has pine cupboards to the eaves and pine floorboards, and there is a pine floored loft area accessed by a ladder fixed to the back wall. Towards the centre of the first floor is a cast-iron “Tortoise” stove by Charles Portway and Son with a tortoise emblem and “Slow But Sure Combustion” motto on the top. The number “4” is stamped on the front rim, and a lower panel bears the raised lettering: “F Russell & Co. Plymouth”. The stove is connected to the roof via a flue.

End of official list entry