Description

SS 72 SW BISHOP'S NYMPTON

5/9 Grilstone (formerly listed as
Grilstone Farmhouse)
20.2.67
II

House. Probably 1834 (datestone on stable block), an extension and remodelling of a
C17 or earlier house for the Reverend William Thorne. the 1834 work is probably by
J. Cock of South Molton who built the rectory (q.v.) for Joseph Thorne, William
Thorne's son. Colourwashed plastered cob and stone rubble, the north east end of the
range (the earlier end) stone rubble (information from owner); bitumen - painted
slate roofs, the north-east wing gabled at ends, the main range hipped at the left
end, gabled at the right end with deep eaves on shaped eaves brackets. The main range
has 2 axial stacks and a rear left lateral stack; the north-east wing, with a lower
roofline, has back to back fireplaces in an axial stack.
Plan: The single depth north-east service wing to the right, 2 rooms wide, is C17 or
earlier and the earliest part of the house. The main range, on the same axis and
adjoining at the left, is 2 rooms wide, double depth, with 2 principal rooms, one on
either side of the main entrance passage which contains the main stair, with narrow
rooms to the rear of the principal rooms. A service entrance into a passage
containing a stair is sited at the extreme right end of the main block. Internal
evidence suggests that the left end of the C17 house had been rebuilt and upgraded in
the C18, before the more extensive remodelling of the 1830s.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 4:3 window front, the 3 windows to the earlier
wing which is set back at the right, the main range with early C19 regular
fenestration and doors, the 3 left hand bays symmetrical. 1830s Doric portico in the
first bay from the left with an entablature and cornice on brackets; recessed C19
panelled front door (upper panels glazed), with panelled reveals; 24-pane sashes
flank the front door, 4 16-pane sashes to the first floor. The service door, in the
right hand bay of the main range, is also C19 with glazed upper panels and a C19
trellis porch. The left return of the main range is 2 bays with a C19 half-glazed
door to the left into the study with an overlight with the remains of 1830s painted
glass (q.v. the fanlight of the front door of the Rectory). A 24-pane sash lights
the principal room to the front, 2 first floor 16-pane sashes. The service wing has
C19 or C20 casement windows with timber glazing bars, except for a 5-light casement
ground floor right which may be C17. The rear elevation of the main range retains an
early C19 round-headed stair window with margin panes.
Interior: The service wing retains a rough crossbeam and a jointed cruck roof
construction, (apex not inspected) which could be late medieval and is almost
certainly pre 1650. 2 C17 plank and stud doors also survive, one upstairs with
chamfered jambs, one (probably re-sited) in the main range on the ground floor. Pre
C19 features in the main range include an C18 service stair and an C18 fitted
cupboard in the first room from the left with fielded panels and butterfly hinges.
Good quality features of the 1830s include an open string mahogany stair with a
ramped wreathed handrail; shutters, doors, chimney-pieces, a plaster ceiling frieze
and cornice in ground floor room front left, arched wall recesses and a reeded arch
with rosettes between the entrance passage and the main stair.
An evolved house of at least C17 origins with good quality C19 features in the main
range. Forms a good group with C19 and earlier farmbuildings to the north and west.
Grilstone was owned by a family of the same name in the C13 and C14 and a chapel was
licensed here in 1374. In the C16 and C17 it was owned by the Pollard family (Tull).

Tull, Christopher S, Bishop's Nympton Church and People (1986).

Listing NGR: SS7308924667

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26401105

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, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)