53 Castle Street

Details

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 14 September 2021 to remove superfluous amendment details and to reformat the text to current standards

ST13NE
6/49

NETHER STOWEY CP
CASTLE STREET (North side)
No 53

(Formerly listed as No 51)

II

House, late C17 or early C18, with later alterations including an early C19 extension.

MATERIALS: Largely rubble stone which is rendered to the principal elevation. Double Roman tiled roof with stone and brick stacks.

PLAN: L-shaped plan with a rear addition to the north east.

EXTERIOR: The two storey house has its principal elevation to the south. It is of four bays with the principal entrance to bay three. It has a six-panelled door, of which the top four panels are glazed, with an iron `tent' canopy hood above supported on a decorative wooden latticework. The fenestration consists largely of hornless sash windows, reflecting an early C19 refashioning. A secondary doorway has been inserted in one of the window openings. To the rear of the front range, positioned against the north west side of the building is a large external stone stack. The rear wing projects northwards and is of two storeys. Its west elevation has two openings to first floor, one of which is a late-C17 timber window with leaded panes; the other is covered with plastic corrugated sheeting. To the ground floor is an arch-headed doorway that is a later insertion; to the right of which is a late-C20 lean-to of plastic corrugated sheeting which is not of special interest. The north gable wall to the wing is devoid of features; a stack at its apex has been removed. The pitch of the roof to the rear wing has been altered. Built against the east wall of the rear wing is a two storey lean-to addition that was probably added in the C18 or C19. It is built of rubble stone with casement windows. One of the ground floor windows has a fine chamfered stone lintel.

INTERIOR: The cottage largely retains its plan form, with a through passage leading to the rear wing where the staircase is positioned. Both of the principal rooms to the front range have a fireplace; a large open fireplace with a timber bressumer in the right hand room, and a marble fireplace in the room opposite. The hallway is panelled but this is C20 in date, as are the decorative wall mouldings to the stair hall. The staircase has turned balusters and for the most part plain handrails, although one section is moulded and flat-topped. The northern two bays of the rear wing are used as workshops and for storage, but has blocked fireplaces to both the ground and first floors at its northern end, and a chamfered ceiling beam. The southern bay remains in domestic use and forms the stair hall. The roof to the front range is largely pegged and consists of principal rafters with slightly cambered tie beams and scarf-jointed trenched purlins. Additional carpentry has been introduced over the years since the roof was first constructed to strengthen it. The roof to the rear wing has C19 and C20 timbers, but the southern bay has a closed truss of lath and plaster.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: There is a stone-built boundary wall to the front of the property. The pedestrian entrance has brick-built gate piers with stone caps and surmounted by ball finials.

HISTORY: The precise origins of Ivy Cottage are uncertain, but it appears to date from the late C17 or early C18 and consists of a two cell through passage house with a substantial rear wing. Later alterations include a two storey lean-to at the rear and the remodelling of the frontage, probably in the early C19. It once formed part of the estate of Castle Hill House, a C17 grade II listed building situated further west along Castle Street and is shown on an estate map of 1815, located at the south eastern edge of an orchard. At this time the cottage is believed to have been a manager's house whilst the rear wing, which was formerly domestic accommodation, was a cider house. Approximately two thirds of the rear wing remains out of domestic use, functioning as a workshop and storage area.

REASON FOR DESIGNATION DECISION:
Ivy Cottage is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* It retains a significant proportion of late C17 or early C18 fabric, including large external stack, an inglenook fireplace, and a considerable proportion of roof carpentry.
* It retains fabric relating to later alterations including the early C19 refashioning of the principal elevation and a rear addition also of probable C19.
* The early plan form remains legible.

SOURCES: Ed. CR Elrington, `The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Somerset' (1985), vol. 5, pp190-95
Plan of Castle Hill House, Nether Stowey, Somerset (1815)



Listing NGR: ST1897039672

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

268898

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.