History

The Tythegston Estate belonged to the Turberville family from the C12, but the earliest part of extant house is the SW tower which is late medieval in origin, behind which is a wing added C17. The walls of the original hall attached to the tower were retained when a new house was built for Henry Knight, begun in 1765, but all original details were lost. The house remained unfinished at Knight's death in 1771, but plans show that he intended to build a second tower to match the medieval tower, which had been largely reconstructed in 1769. Knight's son, also Henry, completed the house from the mid 1790s, although he abandoned his father's plans for a 2nd tower, deciding instead to build a short E wing mid 1790s, and adding a porch to the front. The service range, which may incorporate part of a C17 dwelling, was also built late C18 and its present form is shown on the 1842 Tithe map.

The house is noted for its rococo plasterwork, undertaken by John Elson under the supervision of Johnson 1769-70. The principal joiner's name was Wishart.

Exterior

Georgian-style house consisting of a main 2-storey entrance range (incorporating the medieval hall) with a 3-storey tower on its L side, with short wings behind to L and R, behind which is a lower 2-storey service block enclosing a rectangular courtyard behind the main house. Pebble-dashed stone (hiding any evidence of earlier features), hipped slate roofs behind a projecting bracketed cornice, and stone stacks behind in main house and ridge stacks to service block.

The entrance front faces S and is of 8 bays (1:6:1), the bay at R-hand end marking the proposed tower which was intended to balance the rebuilt medieval tower to L. Sash windows, some with small-pane glazing, in moulded segmental-headed architraves (rusticated heads in the lower storey), and plat band. The glazed porch has 4 Tuscan columns, entablature and cornice with triglyphs. The front door is half-lit with raised fielded panels, and its doorcase has Tuscan pilasters and a moulded cornice on consoles. The tower to L has a single shallow angle buttress on its R side.

The 6-bay E garden front has a blind arcade in the lower storey with roundels to the spandrels, and sash windows (with small panes in the 3 bays lower L). In the W front the tower has a half-lit panelled door lower R, a window to centre with 2-centred head, leaves in the spandrels and a hood mould. On the L side are hornless sash windows to each storey. The 2-window W wing behind the tower has, in the lower storey, C17 former 2-light windows with hood moulds, the mullions now missing and replaced with casement windows. In the upper storey are taller cross windows.

Behind the W wing the service block has a 2-window cottage with casements in the lower storey and sashes above. To the L of a ridge stack is the doorway to the cottage, with replaced door, L of which are 2 upper-storey windows and a barred opening in the lower storey. The external rear elevation of the service block consists of a 3-bay central wing set back from and lower than the gable ends of the service block E and W wings. In the centre is a boarded door to a through-passage to the courtyard, and is flanked by cross windows. In the upper storey the windows have shallow segmental heads, with fixed panes to R, louvered to centre and replaced to L. The gable end to R has kneelers of a former higher gable, 2 blind segmental arches, inside which are a barred window to L and boarded door with overlight to R. The L gable end has similar arches with garage doors inserted, above which is a horned sash window. The E service wing front is set back from the main E wing of the house and was formerly a stable and coach house. It has 5 horned sash windows in the upper storey, under gablets R and L of centre. In the lower storey are, at the L end, 3 blind round-headed arches with a half-lit door with margin lights to L and small sash windows centre and R. To the R of this are 3 round openings with small-pane pivoting windows (one blind) flanking a doorway offset to R under a round-headed arch and with double panelled doors incorporating glazed panels.

Facing the courtyard, the E wing has a horned sash window beneath a blind arch to R, L of which is a half-lit door, and L of which are 4 bays with horned sashes, under gablets in the upper storey and with rusticated segmental heads in the lower storey. The N wing has a round-headed doorway to centre leading to the ramped through passage, above which is a blind panel. To the R is a small-pane casement above steps leading down to a cellar doorway under a segmental head. To the L of the passage is a boarded door reached up stone steps, and further L a fixed window.

The wing has a lean-to attached behind the main house, but inside which is a Tudor-headed doorway to R of former stack, aligned with doorway in the external wall and suggesting a passage backing on the chimney. To its L is a horned sash, to its R the segmental head of another possible doorway. To the R of the lean-to is a boarded door flanked by casements in the upper storey and a fixed window lower L and shuttered window lower R. The rear of the main house has a projecting gabled bay facing the courtyard, with hornless sash windows to the attic and upper storeys, the L window partially cutting a blind arch offset to L in the lower storey, within which is a segmental headed sash window to the ground floor. To the L of the gabled bay is a tripartite windows under a blind arch and incorporating a sash window in the centre.

Interior

The interior has one of the most important C18 decorative schemes in the county. The entrance hall has Doric friezes to the cornices and above the doorways and fireplace. Family portraits are set into plaster ellipses under festoons, with two larger portraits framed in eared architraves. The stair has a wreathed handrail, turned balusters (2 per tread) and relief foliage to the strings. The landing has especially fine rococo plasterwork, consisting of garlands, festoons and an elaborate ceiling rose. At the head of the stairs is a shield displaying the arms of Knight, but leaving a blank to signify his separation from his wife.

The drawing room in the E wing was originally intended to be the library. There are pairs of alcoves on each side of the room with Corinthian pilasters. The fireplace has similar pilasters and a lintel with festoons and a shield.

Reasons for Listing

Listed Grade II*, Tythegston Court is a well-detailed Georgian house with fine interior plasterwork, and with interesting earlier origins as a rare medieval tower house.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q17738821

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

• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)