Prysten House

Description

This information is taken from the statutory List as it was in 2001 and may not be up to date.

PLYMOUTH

SX4754 ABBEY PLACE, Plymouth 740-1/57/349 (North West side) 25/01/54 Prysten House (Formerly Listed as: FINEWELL STREET, Plymouth Prysten House)

GV I

Large merchant's house. c1498, extended 1635, built for Thomas Yogge who died in 1509 (Pevsner), rear truncated when Abbey Hall was built and some 1920s restoration. Plymouth limestone rubble with granite dressings to openings; dry slate roofs, coped to right of taller roof at the front; lateral rubble stack to lower roof at front left which is hipped on the corner and another lateral rubble stack to left-hand return towards rear. PLAN: U-shaped plan overall, the ranges of single depth and with gallery facing into the rear courtyard, the left-hand front room containing a well. 1st floor as the principal floor; wide through-passage to ground floor. EXTERIOR: 3 storeys; slightly asymmetrical 3-bay front plus slightly projecting wing on the left. Mostly original windows with ogee-headed lights and hoodmoulds to front, some C17 windows, some C20 copies of C17 windows and some windows resited or reset. Front has 3-storey splayed central bay with original very fine 4-light transomed window plus sidelights under a moulded cornice to 1st floor; original 2-light window with hoodmould above plus sidelights to splays; similar original single light windows to flanking bays, a ventilator slit to left and 2 original single-light windows to 2nd-floor left and right of wing. Central 4-centred arched moulded doorway of 2 orders with squat quatrefoil to tympanum and 4-centred hoodmould above. Original relieving arches above C17 chamfered single-light windows to 1st-floor left and right. 3 original relieving arches to ground floor: to right of wing over small 3-centred arched moulded doorway with carved spandrels; left of main doorway over a squat C17 single light and right over a C20 2-light window to enlarged opening. Left-hand return is a slightly irregular 5-window range with original slit windows, otherwise C17 or C20 windows: round-headed ventilator slits to left-hand bay; 3 original relieving arches over windows to 1st floor centre and left of centre and slit windows to 2nd-floor centre and right. Most windows with leaded glass. Right-hand return is 4-window range with gable end of front



range on the left and porch on the right. Mostly original openings, the windows with ogee-headed lights including 3-light window to 2nd floor on left and 2-light window below left of 4-centred arched doorway with square hoodmould. Porch has similar doorway and date 1635 and eroded coat of arms above. Rear elevations have similar openings to other elevations. There is a 1st floor gallery supported on oak corbels with carved ends, most of which are restored. To ground floor on either side at rear of the courtyard is a 2-bay arcade with moulded 4-centred arches. Courtyard front of wing has restored doorway and windows with ogee-headed lights, also 4 very small windows. INTERIOR: oak raised cruck roof structure with chamfered principals, mortices, collars and trenched purlins. Frater room has moulded beams and joists. There are 3 stone newel stairs, granite fireplaces some with corbels, the kitchen fireplace very large and the Frater fireplace with cusped centre. An excellent example of a large late medieval merchant's house, typically built to a courtyard plan. (The Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Devon: London: 1989-: 661; Power WJ: A Layman's View of Some Plymouth Churches: 1977-: 27).







Listing NGR: SX4792454371

Content

This is part of the Series: IOE01/1233 IOE Records taken by Andrew C Letchford; within the Collection: IOE01 Images Of England

Rights

© Mr Andrew C. Letchford. Source: Historic England Archive

This photograph was taken for the Images of England project