The Pheasant Inn, Wythop, Cumbria

Summary

Coaching inn, later C18 with an inter-war refit and later extensions.

Description

Coaching inn, later C18 with an inter-war refit and later extensions.

MATERIALS: stone, rendered with dressings picked out in black paint; a graduated Lakeland slate roof covering. The rear elevation is mostly unrendered, of local stone with pink dressings.

PLAN: L-shaped, comprising a linear east-west range with a projecting wing at its west end, and a central rear projection. The original east-west range has a double-pile plan.

EXTERIOR: adjacent to an historic road, on the west side of Lake Bassenthwaite. The two-storey building is rendered and has pitched and hipped roofs, and a pair of tall, corniced chimney stacks. The main (north) elevation has ten bays, comprising nine two-light and one single-light first floor window, each light fitted with a nine-pane casement window frame. There are eight similar windows to the ground floor. The left return (east elevation) has a three-light ground floor window, and above there is a timber pub sign depicting a pheasant, beneath a timber hood mould. There are external stone steps to a first-floor entrance, with a six-over-six horned sash window to the right. A four-bay range with a hipped roof of slate projects north from the west end of the east-west range. The east elevation of this projecting range has four first floor windows with two-over-two and six-over-six horned sashes, and three similar windows to the ground floor; the latter were inserted when the motor garage that formally occupied this space was removed. To the right is an integral arched passage (blocked), with a pub sign depicting a pheasant above, and a wide arched carriage opening (blocked with an inserted window). A set of external stone stairs access a first floor opening on the north elevation. The right return (west elevation) has seven first floor windows, six ground floor windows and an arched passage entrance. The rear (south) elevation is partly rendered local stone and has a very irregular ridge line and a similar stack to those of the main elevation. It has regular fenestration to both floors, mostly with eight-over-eight sash windows. There are two single-storey, pitched roof extensions to the centre of the elevation, and a corner infill extension. The two lower blocks forming the south west corner and the single-storey south-east WC block are early-C21 extensions.

INTERIOR: the vestibule has original six-panel doors within fluted architraves to either end, and similar doors in architraves to rooms off to the right and left. That on the left enters a room that retains a picture rail and a chimney piece. The entrance passage opens into an east-west side-passage, that has an historic post box inserted into its north wall. A small bar off this passage is separated from it by a timber and glazed partition with a two-part glazed hatch inscribed ‘waiters only’, a pair of glazed panels, and a bell push; an original four-panelled door gives access to the bar interior which retains its early-C20 finishes, fixtures and fittings. It is divided by a wide, depressed arch with a panelled soffit and timber keystone into two parts: a relatively small area in front of the panelled bar counter and, behind the arch, a larger space for drinkers and diners. The walls have a panelled dado and both the upper walls and ceiling are plastered and heavily lacquered, or perhaps lined with lacquered leather. On the inside of the arch is an early gas fire possibly dating from the 1930s, a long thin mirror on the other side, and light fittings to either side. The bar counter and bar back remain in situ, with original hand pumps to the bar back. The remainder of the ground floor interior to the right of the bar and entrance passage is currently (April 2021) partially gutted and stripped back to stone; all original exposed first floor beams are retained. The former carriage passage with an arched entrance is also visible within the north end of the north projecting range. An original staircase gives access to the upper floor; this has a newel post and stick balusters, and is lit by a large stair window, within a fluted surround. The first floor retains an historic floor plan of a spinal east-west corridor with rooms off to either side. Some of the rooms retain heavy six-panel doors; the interiors have been mostly stripped back to stonework, but the lower parts of the original roof structure are exposed and retained, as is the remainder of the roof structure above.

History

This building is considered to be a coaching inn of later-C18 date. It is depicted on the 1844 Tithe Map on land owned by Sir Ralph Vane, and has an L-shaped footprint. The first edition of the 1:2500 Ordnance Survey (OS) map published in 1863 largely retains this footprint, but the east-west range has been slightly extended to the rear, and a north porch is depicted. The second edition 1:2500 OS map published in 1899 depicts a similar footprint, with further remodelling of the rear. On both maps the building is annotated Peel Wyke (Pheasant Inn). The building is depicted on an historic (pre-1923) photograph, which shows that a former ground-floor door and window to the western part of the east-west range have been subsequently remodelled to a window and an enlarged window respectively. The photograph also shows that by this time a motor garage has been inserted to the south end of the projecting range, where it attaches to the east-west range.

By the time of the 1923 third edition 1:2500 OS map, a projecting extension has been added to the centre of the rear elevation. A period of internal refurbishment in the inter-war period included the creation of a small bar, side passage and lounge bar. Historic mapping shows that a two-bay extension was added to the east between 1923 and 1972. At some point, the integral motor garage was infilled and fenestrated. The rear of the building was altered and extended in the early-C21 including the addition of WCs at the south-east corner, a dining room extension at the south-west corner, new rear windows and a door to the newly constructed garden terrace. The historic inter-war interiors are entered onto The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Inventory of Historic Interiors of National Importance. In 2021 a major internal refurbishment is taking place including the removal of internal walls and the stripping back of most spaces to stonework. The north timber porch has recently been removed.

Reasons for Listing

The Pheasant Inn, of late-C18 date, extended and with the interior remodelled in the early C20, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* a late-C18 coaching inn in a Cumbrian vernacular style of much character, that retains significant original fabric;
* it illustrates the change from early staging for horse-drawn coaches to the need for early-C20 facilities to accommodate increased travel and tourism, and motorised transport;
* the inter-war bar retains its original character and finishes, and has a rare and complete early-C20 interior including a bar counter, bar back and stove;
* the retention of a side passage with an original panelled partition, signage and a serving hatch is a rare survival as examples are increasingly dwindling nationally.

External Links

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British Listed Buildings

History in Structure

The Pheasant Inn

A Grade II Listed Building in Wythop, Cumbria

Coordinates

Summary

Description

History

Reasons for Listing

External Links

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