Woodway House - Design and Construction

Design and Construction

Woodway House shows three clear phases of construction, with the 'Cottage Orne' of the early 19th century, the old farm buildings and the tutors living quarters and a classroom, built before 1825. James Spratt had three sons and six daughters, making home tuition both economical and appropriate.

The identifiable remains of the old farm buildings consist firstly of a barn with a hay loft that collapsed in a gale and was demolished in the 1960s. A cobbled courtyard with a deep well, granite trough and pump surrounded by outbuildings which include an upper story that had a ladder running up to it, probably for access to the stable hand's dwelling. Another pump was located inside the side wing which was the Boiler House, with its chimney. The clothes were boiled here on washing days and the pump drew water from the well outside, using a system of lead pipes. A door from the courtyard, now removed, led directly into the main room of what was the living area of the farm. This large room still had a 'polished' mud floor in 1951 and the large kitchen fireplace is still present. In the floor of this room was a hatch that led down to a 'bottle shaped' storage cellar with a wood ladder, hidden when the floor was tiled over in the 1950s.

The 'Cottage Orne' part of the dwelling is built of cob, the foundations of the walls being only huge split oak trunks resting on the native bedrock of red sandstone. The walls are between three and four feet thick, giving a cool building in summer and a good insulation against the cold of winter. The thatch is also a highly effective insulator. The Devon saying is that 'All cob wants is a good hat and a good pair of shoes', meaning that cob will last for hundreds of years as long as water is kept away. Its other value is that, unlike bricks, the material is a single unit, giving great integrity and stability. Unfortunately Woodway suffered from water damage in the late 1980s due to an old chimney flue open to the rain. This necessitated much remedial work and construction of a substantial side buttress. The height of the old farm dwelling was considerably increased when the 'cottage orne' was added.

A rare survival internally is the system of bell-pulls and bells installed to summon servants to the various living rooms and bedrooms of the house. This system works via wires and pulleys which all lead to the area outside the 'big kitchen', this being the servants area of the house in Victorian times. The system still worked in the 1980s. A number of ornate fireplaces survived, although some were hidden behind wood screens. A constant concern was the chance of setting the thatch alight. The 1825 drawing shows no Weather Cock, however one was added later and acted also as a lightning conductor. The 'French Windows' are a major part of the design effect, as they seem to run continuously from the ground to the first floor of the building. Inside, these windows had large wood screens that could be unfolded to close off these ground floor 'doors' or windows as they effectively are on the first floor. The rolls of black cloth used to 'black out' the other windows during the Second World War were still stored in the attic in the 1970s.

The front door is enclosed by a porch, however the design of the front door surround shows that it was built to be exposed to the weather and a porch added later. A false or blocked up Gothic chapel-style window faces the driveway. With the age of this part of the house it is possible that the window was blocked up to save on window tax after the new schoolroom and tutors living quarters were added. The expression 'daylight robbery' may possibly come from the effects of this tax.