Description

KENTON
SX 98 SW

5/196 Brickhouse
(formerly listed as Breckhouse
11.11.52 Farmhouse)

GV
II*

House. Probably late C17, described as an incomplete 'shell'in 1796. Mr Long Esq.,
for whom it was built, died before it was finished (Swete). Derelict in the 1960s and
renovated since. English bond brick on a stone plinth ; red pantile roof, gabled at
ends ; massive brick projecting end stacks with set-offs. Later C19 brick addition
with tiled roof. Artisan mannerist style, extremely unusual for Devon and an
unusually early use of brick in the county.
Plan: Swete's watercolours of 1796 show that there were originally 2 blocks, only one
of which survives. The surviving block was originally 3 storeys, 2 rooms wide, built
into the slope of the land with the principal rooms on the first floor and a first
floor entrance : service rooms on the ground floor. Judging from the roof structure
the house was reduced to 2 storeys in the early C19 and is known to have served as 2
cottages in the C20. The principal stair no longer exists and the newel stair which
gave access from the ground floor services to the piano nobile has been replaced.
The house has been turned round and the original porch to the first floor rooms has
been blocked.
Exterior: Remarkable for its robust decorative brick detail. 2 storeys. Symmetrical
5-bay front (now the rear) with a gabled porch at first floor level with brick
pilasters and a moulded brick cornice above a round-headed doorway with a key block
doorway now blocked and converted to a window. To the left and right are blind
windows, 2 to each side, with projecting brick architraves and moulded brick
cornices. 5-bay front elevation with a C20 verandah on posts with a tiled roof,
screened-in in the centre to form a porch. Ground floor windows with segmental brick
arches and C20 3-light timber casements with glazing bars. First floor windows with
projecting round-headed brick arches with keyblocks and blind panels above the C20 2-
light timber transomed casements. The centre window, lighting the stair, is set
below the others and smaller, although of the same design and is linked to a window
above set in a projecting square brick frame. A brick platband below the eaves (but
originally at second floor level) is linked to the keyblocks of the first floor
window. Single-storey later brick addition at the right end, slightly set back, with
casement windows. The massive stacks retain the remains of a projecting brick string
course.
Interior: Largely modernized. It is not clear whether the piano nobile rooms were
ever completed and fitted up : the ground floor rooms each have a massive chamfered
crossbeam, the left-hand room beam with surviving scroll stops.
Roof: Conventional early C19 king post and strut trusses.
Swete, who illustrated the house with 4 watercolours, refers to the owner, Mr Long
Esq., "who being dissatisfied with his ancient manor at Mowlish and having yielded up
his other seat at Newhouse to Mr Oxenham who had married his daughter ...... began
this edifice for himself, but died ere he saw its completion". Swete does not give
a date for the building but David Long Esq. was sherriff of Devon 1704-1705.

Swete, J, 'Picturesque Sketches of Devon', vol. 11 (1796) pp. 52 and 53. Ms held in
DRO.

Listing NGR: SX9440780950

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17534940

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability