Description

ST GERMANS
SX 35 NW
4/81 Tregunnick Farmhouse

21.7.51 11*

Farmhouse. Probably late C15 - early C16; altered, including flooring the hall circa
late C16, with early C17 porch. Kitchen addition probably of mid C18 with other
internal alterations. Alterations and additions of C19 and C20. Slatestone rubble,
with granite dressings. Rear roughcast. Slurried slate hipped roof with brick
shafts to chimneys.
Plan: Originally 3-room and through passage plan; lower end room to right, now heated
by front lateral stack, possibly originally with gable end stack. Hall to left,
heated by rear lateral stack, and inner room to left end, heated by axial stack. The
hall may have been originally open, and if so, it was floored and re-roofed circa
late C16, when a stair tower was added to the rear right of the passage. In the
early C17, a porch was added to the front of the passage. It appears that the left
end was of 3 storeys, possibly with a stair along the outer wall, where the windows
are stepped; there is also a door frame at second floor level in the roof at this
end. Probably circa mid C18, the lower end room to right became the parlour; the
inner room at the left end was partitioned, forming a dairy to rear, secondary stair
positioned laterally and a kitchen built to the front of the left end room, with a
lean-to roof and a stack to the front. Probably at the same time, the right end wall
was rebuilt, and a front lateral stack built. There may originally have been a
gable end stack. The hall has always been separated from the passage by a screen,
now of late C19, the roof is continuous over the hall and passage. There is a C20
porch between the C17 porch and the kitchen wing.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical front with a lean-to porch in rubble of the C17,
with 4-centred arched granite doorway, hollow-chamfered, with recessed spandrels with
roundels and square hood mould. The interior of the porch has plaster ceiling and
slate floor, inner doorway also in granite and probably earlier, with a 3-centred
arch, roll-moulded, with recessed spandrels and roll-moulded surround, no hood mould
and plain door. Above the porch is a C19 2-light 6-pane casement. The lower end
room to right has a single narrow C19 light at ground floor, with L hinge to
casement, 16-pane sash at first floor. The front lateral stack projects slightly,
with a blocked doorway to right with lintel remaining. To the left of the porch,
ground floor hall window, of 3 lights in granite, chamfered, with stoolings for
mullions, hood mould and remains of slate string course above; at first floor a 3-
light and 2-light casement, both of C19, with L hinges. C20 glazed porch between the
main porch and the kitchen wing. The kitchen wing has a C20 window and door to inner
side, in brick surrounds, rendered end stack. Inside the kitchen, the formerly
external main hall window, blocked, in granite, of 4 lights, with hollow-chamfered
king mullion, other mullions removed, with remains of hood mould. To the left of the
kitchen wing, there is a 2-light C19 casement at ground floor. The left side has two
2-light casements at ground floor, lighting the dairy to left and larder to right;
to the centre and the right, 2 staggered level windows, both 2-light chamfered
granite casements with hood moulds, the upper one to right blocked; at second floor
level to centre, the remains of a similar window, replaced by a 6-pane light with
granite cill. The right end wall is roughcast, with a C19 16-pane sash at ground and
first floor. Buttress to the rear of the lower end room, probably built in mid C18,
at time of rebuilding of the lower end; there is a projecting wall at the rear of the
lower end room, with the wall chamfered at the base, with a single light at the side
and 12-pane sash at first floor. The function of this small room to the rear of the
lower end room is not clear. To the right is a wide stair tower, with C19 12-pane
sash at first floor to rear and small single light at upper right side. The passage
rear doorway is in granite, with chamfered 4-centred arch with stops. To the rear of
the hall is a large external stack with brick shaft, ground floor 16-pane sash to
right and left of stack, and first floor 2-light casement to right and left, of
different sizes, all probably of C19. The rear of the end room to right is on a
plinth, with a 2-light casement at ground and first floors.
Interior: The porch leads to a wide passage, with C19 wooden hall screen to left,
solid wall to right with 2 granite doorways, both chamfered and stopped with 4-
centred arches, the rear doorway leading to the stair tower and the front doorway
leading to the lower end room. The lower end room was converted as a parlour and has
C20 fireplace to front lateral stack; to the rear of the room, a small room with
slate floor and timber lintel in rear wall, possibly originally a window. The stair
tower has a stone newel stair. The hall has a large granite fireplace with cambered
arch and roll-moulding, similar to the front door to the passage. At the left end is
a step up to a granite doorway to the inner room, chamfered, with 4-centred arch.
The inner room was partitioned, probably mid C18, with a dairy to the front; the
granite fireplace survives to the axial stack, with a slate floor, slate shelves and
central slate table. Between the front and rear partitioned rooms is a lateral
passage with a straight stair in 2 flights; the rear larder has stud partition walls,
but the rear wall of the dairy is masonry, probably inserted; the inner lintel of the
doorway to the dairy is timber, chamfered and stopped, as also is the inner lintel to
the doorway to the lower end room. At first floor, the lateral passage over the left
end room leads to a rear lateral passage, to the rear of the room over the hall and
passage. This was probably originally one large room over the hall and passage,
heated by a granite fireplace at the left end (from the axial stack) which remains,
with a flat chamfered granite lintel and jambs with cushion-shaped stops, and at the
right end with a C19 cast iron grate. The room over the dairy has a door of 2 planks
with strap hinges, set in a 4-centred arched chamfered wooden frame; there is a
similar granite fireplace in this room to the axial stack.
Roof: at first floor, the feet of 2 of the principal rafters are visible, slightly
curved, chamfered and with run-out stops; others boxed in. The roof is of 6 bays,
with principal rafters halved and pegged, and chamfered up to collar level; the
collars are chamfered, with a pronounced camber, also halved and pegged; there were
originally 2 rows of threaded purlins, replaced by trenched purlins. Walls plastered
to the height of the collars. It appears that there was a second floor room over the
left end room, doorframe survives in timber, chamfered, with 4-centred arch.
This is an unusually large house, with alterations to the end rooms to left and right
so that the original form of the house is not clear; the surviving features are of
high quality.

Listing NGR: SX3090155352

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17555760

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

• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
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  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period property manual, victorian house manual 2 books collection set by ian rock
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)