Trelissick Manor House, Farmhouse and Cottage, Including Front and Rear Garden Wall, Summer House, Gate Piers and Gate, St. Erth, Cornwall

Description

ST ERTH
SW 5435-5535
13/208 (was 12/130) Trelissick Manor House, Farmhouse
- and Cottage, including front and
rear garden walls, summer house,
gate piers and gate
GV II*

Manor house (now 2 houses) and adjoining cottage, including front and rear garden
walls, summer house, gate piers and gate. Medieval on a pre-Conquest site,
remodelled in 1668 for the Paynter family and in the C18, and extended circa early
C19. Granite rubble walls with granite dressings. Steep roofs with gable ends
except for hipped end, far right: grouted scantle slate over the front range,
otherwise concrete tiles. C17 granite ashlar stacks with moulded entablature at:
gable ends left and rear (over external chimney breast); over cross wall between
house and farmhouse and external lateral stack over left-hand wall of rear range.
Plan: L-shaped plan plus 2-room-plan C19 cottage set back on left ; lean-to pantry
or dairy left of kitchen and C19 butlers pantry at right-hand side of rear wing.
Original plan and later medieval plan largely replaced by C17 plan incorporating
parts of the earlier house. Front range is 5 rooms long. Rear wing (at right angles
behind the left-hand side) has stair hall, back parlour and large kitchen (at rear).
A quadrant-on-plan link turret (smaller plan to first floor) projects from the inner
angle between the 2 principal ranges. The left-hand part of the front range is
taller (as is the wing behind) and contains a principal parlour with principal
chamber over. Both rooms have fine circa late C17 features. There is a cross
passage on the right of the parlour and this leads to a passage on the right-hand
side of the rear wing. The front wall for most of its length to the right of the
passage is enormously thick (about 1.2 metres) and there is a ragged joint in the
wall part of the way along this. There is also a joint in the right-hand wall of the
wing, and the left-hand wall of the wing (C17 or earlier) continues to become the
left-hand side of a granary q.v., added in the C19. There are some C17 carved stone
fragments in the courtyard (rear left) including 2 columns, possibly from a former
porch or colonnade. A datestone 1668 is reset into the front (north wall) of the
cottage.
Exterior: 2-storeys. Slightly irregular 6 window south front with rear wall of
cottage set back on the left. The 2 bays on the left are taller and the second from
left first floor window is blocked. The 2 ground floor windows are circa late C17 2-
light chamfered windows with granite transoms and mullions. First floor left-hand
window and similar C20 copies in right-hand side of the front are wooden mullioned
windows-with transoms. The old window and 3 similar windows in the rear wing are
possibly C17. Narrow doorway (right of granite windows) is cut through a medieval
wall. Right of the doorway is a circa late C18 16-pane casement window and similar
window over in former wider opening. The mullioned windows contain probably C19
casements. Between the right-hand windows is a C20 window probably in former doorway
position. Rear wing has some circa late C18 30-pane sashes and later copies in left-
hand wall and old ledged doors. The cottage has a symmetrical 3 window north front
with original sashes. Right of the doorway is a reset datestone with 1668 in relief.
There are reused C17 chamfered lintels over the openings, here and in other parts of
the house.
Interior: Largely unaltered since the C18 and early C19 and contains some good
quality circa late C17 features including: complex inner mouldings to all the
transommed windows (including wooden linings to the granite windows); moulded ceiling
with central carved oval and bolection-moulded dado panelling in the best parlour;
belection-moulded chimney-piece and plaster barrel ceiling with moulded cornices in
the chamber over the parlour; 2 C17 doors and ogee-moulded ceiling beams in room
right of the parlour. C18 features include dado panelling with moulded chair rails
and some doors with H L hinges. The stairs are probably circa early C19: dog leg
with closed string, rectangular balusters and chamfered newel. Inside the stair
cupboad is some Gothic style wall paper presumably pre-dating the stair. The butlers
pantry contains its original fittings including a dresser. Roof structures (not
inspected) are presumably circa late C17 or early C18.
Rubble walls with slate copings enclose 2 rectangular gardens at the front. The
left-hand garden has lower granite coped wall at the front ramped up at the sides and
has some low box planting at the sides (possibly a continuation of a tradition). The
right-hand garden was probably an orchard and has a 2-storey summer house (or apple
loft) in the front left-hand corner with granite steps leading up to the upper floor
from the left-hand garden. There are rubble walls enclosing 2 rectangular courtyards
at the rear. Left-hand courtyard has rear gateway with granite monolithic piers and
circa early C19 iron gate.
James Paynter of Trelissick was the man who proclaimed James II as king. Trelissick
was later the property of the Hearle family and in the C19 was rented by William
Harvey (1805-1893) (youngest son of John Harvey and nephew of Henry Harvey, 1775-
1850) from Fancis Hearle Rodd. After the death of Henry Harvey, William took an
active interest in the running of the family firm, Harvey and Co.
This house has some unusual and interesting features: the transomed mullioned windows
are unique in this part of Cornwall; the quadrant-on-plan projections in the angle
between the main ranges of the house may be communicating passages on the ground and
first floor and may never have contained stairs from one floor to the other .
Sources: The Harveys of Hayle by Edmund Vale; The Cornishman's House by V M and F J
Chesher;

Listing NGR: SW5558435946

External Links

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