Heron Court Incuding Outbuildings Adjoining to West and Cob Garden Walls Adjoining to North

Details

ZEAL MONACHORUM ZEAL MONACHORUM SS 70 SW 4/90 Heron Court including out- buildings adjoining to west and 26.8.65 cob garden walls adjoining to north GV II*

House, formerly rectory. Mid C16, rearranged and partly rebuilt in the early C18, refurbished with service extensions circa 1830-40. Plastered cob on rubble footings; stone rubble stacks topped with C20 brick; slate roofs. The house faces south with a rather rambling plan which has developed over 4 centuries. The main block dates from the mid C16 and comprises 2 rooms separated by a through passage. The left (western) end room was built as a fine parlour but was later converted to a kitchen and apparently its original rear lateral fireplace has been replaced by the present projecting end stack. The unheated right room was converted to the stair hall in the early C18. At the same time a 2-room crosswing was built on the right end projecting forward and rear and containing the principal rooms. The front room has an outer lateral stack and the rear room has an end stack. Circa 1830-40 this rear room was subdivided to include a small study and enlarged with a round-ended extension on the outer side. On the left end, on the same axis as the main block but set back from the front and overlapping a little to rear is a service wing containing the present kitchen and a garage and workshop (formerly stables and coach house). Main house is 2 storeys with attics in roof space and rear room of crosswing has a cellar under. Main house has nearly symmetrical 3-window front. The front passage doorway is a little right of centre and contains a C19 6-panel door with contemporary 2-light overlight containing tiny panes of leaded glass and simple flat-roofed porch with slender turned timber posts and a minimally-moulded (possibly replacement) entablature. It is flanked by C19 sashes, 12 panes to right and 16 panes to left. The first floor has contemporary 2-light casements with glazing bars although left one replaced by C20 iron-framed casement. The front end of the crosswing has an early C19 tripartite sash with central 12-pane sash on each floor and a C20 replacement dormer to the attic. The eaves along the whole front are carried on wide-spaced shaped brackets and the early C19 cast iron gutter has lion's head masks over the joints. The main block roof is gable-ended. The crosswing is taller and its steeply-pitched roof is hipped each end. The outer side is blind except for the early C19 round-ended projection which contains a ground floor 24-pane (12/12) sash and first floor 12-pane sash. Its roof has a rounded hip and the slates here are coated. The rear end has a 12-pane sash on each floor, both on the right side, and an early C19 dormer to the attic. The rear of the main block has a C19 4-panel door to the through passage with a C20 casement above and, to left, a large oak early C18 mullion-and-upper-transom stair window; flat-faced mullion and transom with internal shallow ogee mould and containing rectangular panes of leaded glass. The low service block to left of the front has a 1-window front of late C19 casements with glazing bars and a contemporary part-glazed 3-panel door to the present kitchen. the roof steps down to left over the single storey garage (with C20 double garage doors) and workshop (with C20 fixed pane window). It is gable-ended. Good interior showing high quality work from the 3 main building phases. The former parlour (left room of main block) has a mid C16 richly moulded axial beam and similar half-beams against the walls as a cornice. Below the beams against the passage crosswall is another similarly-moulded beam with broad step stops which appears to be the headbeam of the original partition there. The fireplace however is C18 or C19; it is granite with a roughly-finished square-cornered lintel and includes a C19 brick-lined oven. The rear part of the through passage is stone- flagged. The main stair is a large and high quality open well stair with closed string, square-section newel posts, moulded pine flat handrail with swan's neck ramps, and richly-turned oak balusters including blocks. The upper flight is supported on a large turned softwood post. This stair must be associated with the early C18 refurbishment even though some of its features look more mid C18 in style. The front room of the crosswing is lined with early C18 oak bolection panelling in 2 heights with box cornice. The bolection chimney piece is unusual having plain blocks either side interrupting the moulding. The fireplace has a curving pentan. The rear room and study have early C19 joinery detail and the main room has a contemporary chimneypiece and moulded plaster cornice. The front windows of the wing and stairhall have early C19 fielded panel shutters. Most of the other joinery detail is early C18; most of the doors are 2-panel and some have fielded panels. The main block roof is mid C16. It is 4 bays and the central truss was originally closed with large framing. The lower parts of the principals are either hidden or cut off. The open trusses have cambered collars and chamfered arch-bracing, and take 3 sets of chamfered butt purlins. The left 2 bays (over the former parlour) have 2 sets of windbraces, the upper pair inverted. The other 2 bays have only single sets of windbraces. The crosswing has an early C18 roof of A-frame trusses with pegged lap-jointed collars. The garage and workshop roof is a C20 replacement. From the rear of the crosswing and the service wing high plastered cob and rubble walls with pantile coping extend northwards to adjoin the churchyard wall (q.v.) and enclose a rear garden. Heron Court is an interesting and attractive house containing high quality work from the mid C16, early C18 and circa 1830-40. Very little has been done since.

Listing NGR: SS7202003995

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

95641

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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