Grilstone

Details

SS 72 SW BISHOP'S NYMPTON

5/9 Grilstone (formerly listed as Grilstone Farmhouse) 20.2.67 II

House. Probably 1834 (datestone on stable block), an extension and remodelling of a C17 or earlier house for the Reverend William Thorne. the 1834 work is probably by J. Cock of South Molton who built the rectory (q.v.) for Joseph Thorne, William Thorne's son. Colourwashed plastered cob and stone rubble, the north east end of the range (the earlier end) stone rubble (information from owner); bitumen - painted slate roofs, the north-east wing gabled at ends, the main range hipped at the left end, gabled at the right end with deep eaves on shaped eaves brackets. The main range has 2 axial stacks and a rear left lateral stack; the north-east wing, with a lower roofline, has back to back fireplaces in an axial stack. Plan: The single depth north-east service wing to the right, 2 rooms wide, is C17 or earlier and the earliest part of the house. The main range, on the same axis and adjoining at the left, is 2 rooms wide, double depth, with 2 principal rooms, one on either side of the main entrance passage which contains the main stair, with narrow rooms to the rear of the principal rooms. A service entrance into a passage containing a stair is sited at the extreme right end of the main block. Internal evidence suggests that the left end of the C17 house had been rebuilt and upgraded in the C18, before the more extensive remodelling of the 1830s. Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 4:3 window front, the 3 windows to the earlier wing which is set back at the right, the main range with early C19 regular fenestration and doors, the 3 left hand bays symmetrical. 1830s Doric portico in the first bay from the left with an entablature and cornice on brackets; recessed C19 panelled front door (upper panels glazed), with panelled reveals; 24-pane sashes flank the front door, 4 16-pane sashes to the first floor. The service door, in the right hand bay of the main range, is also C19 with glazed upper panels and a C19 trellis porch. The left return of the main range is 2 bays with a C19 half-glazed door to the left into the study with an overlight with the remains of 1830s painted glass (q.v. the fanlight of the front door of the Rectory). A 24-pane sash lights the principal room to the front, 2 first floor 16-pane sashes. The service wing has C19 or C20 casement windows with timber glazing bars, except for a 5-light casement ground floor right which may be C17. The rear elevation of the main range retains an early C19 round-headed stair window with margin panes. Interior: The service wing retains a rough crossbeam and a jointed cruck roof construction, (apex not inspected) which could be late medieval and is almost certainly pre 1650. 2 C17 plank and stud doors also survive, one upstairs with chamfered jambs, one (probably re-sited) in the main range on the ground floor. Pre C19 features in the main range include an C18 service stair and an C18 fitted cupboard in the first room from the left with fielded panels and butterfly hinges. Good quality features of the 1830s include an open string mahogany stair with a ramped wreathed handrail; shutters, doors, chimney-pieces, a plaster ceiling frieze and cornice in ground floor room front left, arched wall recesses and a reeded arch with rosettes between the entrance passage and the main stair. An evolved house of at least C17 origins with good quality C19 features in the main range. Forms a good group with C19 and earlier farmbuildings to the north and west. Grilstone was owned by a family of the same name in the C13 and C14 and a chapel was licensed here in 1374. In the C16 and C17 it was owned by the Pollard family (Tull).

Tull, Christopher S, Bishop's Nympton Church and People (1986).

Listing NGR: SS7308924667

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

97532

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Tull, C, Bishops Nympton Church and People, (1986)

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.