Cruwys Morchard House and Walls to Walled Garden

Details

SS 81 SE CRUWYS MORCHARD CRUWYS MORCHARD 2/81 Cruwys Morchard House and walls to walled garden at north east 5.4.66 GV II* Manor House, seat of the Cruwys family. Circa mid C16, described as "lately ... enlarged and modernized" in 1850 (White's Devon). Ashlar masonry to the front elevation, rear elevation and east elevation rendered ; hipped slate roof behind parapets ; 8 stacks, some with rendered shafts, some with stone shafts. H plan with a central heated entrance hall and left and right crosswings, the right hand crosswing extends further to the rear than the left crosswing. The earliest dateable part of the house is the rear of the right crosswing which contains a fine circa mid C16 parlour or hall on the ground floor, heated by a projecting lateral stack. It is possible that this crosswing was originally the main range of the house but re-roofing and later alterations make it difficult to establish the early plan form. Hoskins suggests that the present entrance hall may be "disguised Tudor". An old beam is said to have been removed from the left hand crosswing suggesting the possiblity of an early courtyard arrangement. The circa early C19 remodelling created the present, almost symmetrical plan. The principal stair rises axially from the heated entrance hall with a second stair in a small projection to the rear left of the main range. The rear of the house is enclosed by a small courtyard. 2 storeys. Symmetrical front elevation, facing south, the 3-bay centre recessed between the 2-bay crosswings with a plinth and a parapet above a deeply-moulded cornice. A l-bay block at the right end is set back from the right hand crosswing. Shallow central circa early C19 porch with Ionic pilasters and a fanlight with spoke glazing was added in the late C20, originating from a house in Tiverton. 12-pane sashes except for the right hand additional block which has a ground floor 6 over 9- pane sash. C20 single-storey addition, set back from main elevation, at left end. Carved label stop, resited on front elevation with date of 1694. The east elevation appears to be earlier with a gabled stair wing adjacent to the large projecting stack heating the C16 parlour. The end of the right hand crosswing is gabled and beyond it a block with a lower roofline has a hipped end. The rear elevation has a circa early C19 round-headed stair window to the rear stair. Interior The C16 parlour has an exceptionally fine intersecting beamed ceiling with moulded beams and cross joists. Partly rebuilt fireplace with timber lintel dated 1654. The parlour is divided from the block with the lower roofline by a narrow passage ; both the passage and the room under the lower roofline have plastered-over chamfered beams. Good early C19 features elsewhere in the house ; the entrance hall is panelled with pilasters with a marble chimneypiece and plaster ceiling rose ; the main stair with turned balusters and deeply ramped weathed handrails C19. The window lighting the rear stair has C19 stained glass including the Cruwys arms. The roof structure throughout is a circa early C19 king post and strut arrangement. The stone rubble slate-capped walls of a walled garden to the north east of the house are included in the listing. Cruwys Morchard house has been the seat of the Cruwys family since at least circa 1175. Margaret C.S. Cruwys Cruwys Morchard Notebook (1939) includes some references to the house. 2 drawings of the house are in the possession of the present owner. One, a copy dated in the 1860s shows the front elevation with the parapet. An evolved house with a handsome front elevation and good interior features.

Listing NGR: SS8748112194

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

437706

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Cruwys, M C S, A Cruwys Morchard Notebook 1066-1874, (1939)

End of official list entry

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