A cobbled courtyard, a smoke-blackened roof truss and a thatched roof with gabled and hipped ends bring different architectural features to the history of Wick and its surroundings. The River Love and trails in the Blackdown Hills add riverside and hill scenery to the historic details. This brings together two themes when planning a trip: the farmhouses and their different building phases, and the trails nearby.
Historic farmhouses and their building phases
At Lower Wick Farmhouse, a range of buildings encloses two sides of a cobbled courtyard, with the farmhouse forming the third. Together with the agricultural outbuildings and other listed houses in the hamlet of Wick, it forms a group. The courtyard layout and the group of buildings are therefore both part of the history of the place.
Lower Wick Farmhouse dates from the late 15th to early 16th century. It was substantially altered in the late 16th and 17th centuries and extended in the 19th century. The range of buildings southeast of the farmhouse also brings together different building periods: it includes a barn from the late 16th to early 17th century, as well as stables and a cowshed from the late 19th century. These dates refer to different buildings and phases, not to a single construction year for the entire farmstead.
Distinctive architectural details
Cuckoo Cottage was a farmhouse dating from the early 16th century and was later altered. Its smoke-blackened roof truss points to an early modern hall house of that period, heated by an open hearth. The cottage is Grade II listed. Here, the roof truss links a specific architectural feature to an interpretation of the house’s earlier form.
Palmerhayes Farmhouse dates from approximately the late 15th or early 16th century. It was remodelled in the 17th century and extended in the 18th century. Its architectural features include a thatched roof with gabled and hipped ends. This approximate early date and distinctive roof detail sit alongside the various phases of alteration at Lower Wick Farmhouse.
Hugginswick Farmhouse is also Grade II listed. It dates from the early to mid-19th century; earlier origins in the 16th or 17th century are suspected. The farmhouse is now divided into two cottages. The barn and the Cider House adjoining Hugginswick Farmhouse date from the late 16th to early 17th century and were rebuilt in the early to mid-19th century. In this group of buildings, the suspected early origins should be distinguished from the farmhouse’s construction period and the later rebuilding.
The River Love and nearby trails
The River Love flows past the hamlet of Wick and joins the River Otter at Langford Bridge. This means the landscape around Wick includes a specific river course as well as the farmhouses.
A walking trail in the Blackdown Hills continues from the road to Wick to a National Trust car park, then on to the summit of Dumpdon Hill. On this route, Wick and the summit are two consecutive points. As trail conditions and access can change, it is advisable to check the latest conditions before setting out.
A cycling route is also linked to Wick by a signpost. It passes through the Blackdown Hills landscape, with its Iron Age hillforts. Honiton railway station is a convenient option for travelling by train for this cycling trip. Check the latest trail conditions before setting out, as they can change.
The two routes offer different ways to plan a trip: the walking trail focuses on the specific destination of Dumpdon Hill, while the cycling route passes through the Blackdown Hills landscape and includes Honiton as a rail option. If you are looking for a holiday rental, you could first consider whether your trip will focus more on the architectural history around Wick or on an outing on foot or by bike.
Discover more destinations: Kings Nympton, North Molton, Bigbury-on-Sea, Little Torrington, Frithelstock, Burlescombe, Buckfastleigh, Hollacombe
For the broader travel overview: Devon.
