Description

PLYMTREE
ST 00 SE
3/131 Plymtree Manor (previously listed
as Hayne House)
22.2.55
GV II*

Former manor house. Early C18, partly rebuilt and enlarged in the late C19
renovated in 1987. The front part is hand-made local red brick laid to Flemish bond
with Beerstone ashlar detail (some replaced with Caen stone), the rear is late C19
Flemish bond brick including some decorative burnt headers; brick stacks and
chimneyshafts, the old ones with stone ashlar coping; slate roof.
Plan: large double depth plan house facing east. The principal rooms are those 3
at the front. The end rooms have end stacks and the larger central room, the
entrance hall, has 2 fireplaces from axial stacks each end. Kitchen, services and
main stair in the rear section. Here too are end stacks and an axial stack. A
lower L-plan service wing is attached to the left (south) end and it has faces to
rear. In fact only the front part of the main block is original. There is a brick
axial wall between the front and back rooms which includes some blocked rear
windows. It is not clear where the original stairs, kitchen and services were
situated. The front faces onto a raised terrace. It is 2 storeys with attics and a
cellar. The rear is 2 storeys with a basement, the service wing is 2 storeys, its
ground floor at basement level.
Exterior: good early C18 front has a symmetrical 2:3:2-window front of early C18
18-pane sashes with ellipitcal arch heads to the top sashes and flat glazing bars
(some are replacements from 1987). Central doorway contains C19 double doors but
the doorframe and overlight is probably early C18. The stone doorcase includes
Corinthian pilasters and the moulded entablature includes a carved coat of arms,
probably that of the Harwood family. The front is divided into 3 bays by stone
ashlar giant Corinthian orders and there are ashlar quoins each end. There is a
moulded eaves cornice and 3 attic dormers. The roof is hipped both ends. On the
right end the front part is in the same style as the front with a 2-window front,
the rear windows are blind. Behind is a late C19 2-storey brick porch containing
round-headed sashes and a panelled door with fanlight. The left end also has a 2-
window front but here the rear windows are smaller and all have segmental brick
arches over. The ground drops here and there is a cellar door with a 2-light window
with chamfered mullion. The late C19 rear elevation is in late C17 -early C18 style
with mullion-and-transom windows but also including a large 25-pane sash to the
stairs. The gables each end contain oculus windows. There appears to have been a
pent roof against the wall at basement level. One still remains this side of the
service wing which contains C20 casements with glazing bars.
Interior: the original cellar has a brick segmental vaulted roof. Original
features are preserved in the front part of the main block. All three ground floor
front rooms have moulded cornices. The left room has bolection-moulded
chimneypiece. The right room has the remains of similar large field panelling. The
first floor right chamber has a good C19 ornamental plaster cornice. The original
roof is a fine piece of carpentry; oak tie beam trusses, the principal with curved
cruck-like feet, sprocketted eaves and pegged mortise-and-tenoned collars. The
carpenter's assembly marks were made with red wax crayon. The rest of the joinery
and carpentry is late C19.
The early C18 front is very impressive and most unusual for Devon. Edwin S. Chalk
researches report that the house was built for the Harward family who held the manor
for three centuries and that it had been "recently finished in the same style by the
owner Mr. Leon."
Source: Edwin S. Chalk, Early Brick Buildings in Devon and Cornwall, Devon and
Cornwall Notes and Queries, No 22, part 1 (1920 - 21) pp 54 - 55.

Listing NGR: ST0586602939

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17546761

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

• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)