Tucked into the folds of Dartmoor, this traditional Devon longhouse has been given a new lease of life by its creative owners, whilst fully respecting its long history and intrinsic character
FEATURE SHARON PARSONS PHOTOGRAPHY RICHARD GADSBY
Sue Harragin has a clutch of old black-and-white photographs which, though not in any way exceptional, offer a beguiling glimpse into everyday life at her moorland cottage some 70 years ago. The neat little windows beneath the thatch are flung open to let in a spring breeze, a tiny lamb huddles next to an old garden gate, a cat stretches lazily on the dipped stone threshold, and the silhouette of a man is captured in the narrow passageway, the pages of a letter in one hand. The gnarled wooden lintel above the front door and the thick stone walls surrounding it look no different to how they look now, and although the years have passed and the house – which dates back to the 16th century – has been home to one generation after another over time, there is a reassuring sense of permanence.
“It’s true,” says Sue, an artist and designer. “There’s something very settled about this place which makes us feel content and happy and seems to rub off on everyone who comes here. There is, I’m sure, a good vibe that comes from the people who lived here before.”
Nevertheless, when she and her musician partner David first came to view the property four years ago, neither were entirely sure it was right for them. “We had a beautiful house deep in rural Devon, but it was, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere,” Sue explains. “We wanted to be closer to a village, and either near the sea or on the moors. I knew this area well because I’d grown up near here, so we started to look – which wasn’t easy during the pandemic.”
As is so often the case, serendipity was to play its part. “We’d made an offer on another property which had fallen through and were feeling a bit bruised, when a friend unexpectedly suggested we buy this cottage from her,” Sue explains. “At first, we weren’t sure, mainly because David – a keen gardener – didn’t think there was enough land, but the more we considered it, the more we began to feel that it could work.”
The property was comprised of a unique cluster of buildings which the couple found intriguing. “We could suddenly see the potential,” Sue recalls. Framing an old cobbled courtyard on three sides, there was the cotta
