Description

SO 9527 BISHOP'S CLEEVE A435
(east side)

16/29 Cleeve Hall
(formerly listed as The Rectory)
4.7.60

GV II*

Former residence of the Bishop of Worcester, now offices. Built
c1250, altered c1667 by Bishop Nicholson of Gloucester as indicated
by datestone on porch, further alterations C18 and 1970s. Coursed
squared and dressed limestone; stone slate roof; rendered stacks
on ashlar stumps. Formerly 'H'-shaped plan now with C17 infill
between the solar and service cross wings on the east front. C20
flat-roofed extensions to rear, not of special interest. Two
storeys and attic. Almost symmetrical entrance front with gable of
former solar and service wing to right and left respectively.
Corner buttress with offsets to the right-hand corner. Single 2-
light double-chamfered stone-mullioned casement with stopped hood
to the ground floor of the left-hand gable; C18 Venetian window
with Gothick glazing above, matching window to the first floor of
the right-hand gable with a 12-pane sash below. C17 infill between
the gables; cross window with leaded panes and a projecting
moulded lintel on brackets to the left of the porch; 2 similar
windows to the first floor flanking the porch; two 12-pane sashes
with dressed stone surrounds to the right of the porch. Hipped 2-
storey porch with painted datestone with date 1667 between the two
floors and a round-headed entrance with moulded arch and imposts
flanked by Ionic pilasters with plain frieze above. Double C19
wrought iron gates within the opening. Two-light casement with
leaded panes, early fastening and projecting moulded lintel on
brackets above; traces of painted sundial upper right. C17 door
within the porch made from two planks with fillets imitating
pilasters to round-headed arches with keystones; heavy moulded
frame. Right-hand return: two 12-pane sashes with plain stone
architraves; double glazed door with horizontal glazing bars far
right. Rear elevation with gable projecting forwards to the left
with a 4-pane sash and a late C18-mid Cl9 two-light casement with
leaded panes to the ground floor; pointed window with Gothic
glazing and a moulded surround, partly infilled at the bottom.
Central projecting stairs turret with C20 buttress; early 2-light
casement with leaded panes towards the top; dressed stone surround
probably formerly for a sash window now filled with C20 frosted
glass to the right-hand return. Range parallel to the main body
projects forwards from the south-west corner. Two C20 cross
windows with steel casements to the ground floor; central flat-
roofed dormer with two 2-light steel casements with leaded panes;
small single light, now blocked upper left. Axial stacks with
moulded cappings. Lateral stack to the service range. Flat gable-
end coping with roll-cross saddles, one retaining a ball finial.
Interior: former hall now subdivided but retains a stone screen
with three pointed chamfered stone arches which would formerly have
lead to the kitchen, buttery and pantry. The central arch is
wider; a fourth to the west is blocked by a C20 glazed door. At
the upper end of the hall, visible from the solar cross wing, the
upper part ofa doorway with a 2-centred arch and a segmental-
pointed rere-arch indicates there was once an internal stair at the
north-west corner of the hall opening into the solar. The original
medieval roof of the solar cross wing with curved-braced cambered
collar beams is reputed to survive above the present coved ceiling
of the solar cross wing. Moulded intersecting beams possibly C16
or earlier under the solar. C17 dog-leg staircase with turned
balusters and ball finials reaching from the ground floor to the
attic. Large C18 classical style mural painting in an alcove on
the first landing. C18 fireplace flanked by Roman Doric columns
and enriched cornucopias facing the buttery screen. Regency
fireplace and doorcases in the room behind. The walls and coved
ceiling of the front room of the solar wing are covered with a well
preserved mural painting of 1810 depicting rural scenes and houses
connected with the Townsend family. Some Regency painted and
stained glass including depiction of the Crucifixion in the
Venetian window.
(David Verey, The Buildings of England, The Vale and the Forest of
Dean, 1980; article on the renovation in Cotswold Life, Feb 1976
illus.)

Listing NGR: SO9568827627

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17540709

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

• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings