Bradley Manor

Details

NEWTON ABBOT

SX87SW TOTNES ROAD 1012-1/1/132 Bradley Manor 16/07/49

I

Manor house. Early C13, remodelled for Richard and Joan Yarde after 1402; late C15 extension and later work, principally in C19. MATERIALS: limewashed roughcast over local limestone rubble, Cornish (originally local) slate roofs with stacks to the valleys flanking the centre, gable ends of the rear block, and the slope and ridge of the rear wings. PLAN: L-plan, the original C13 hall-house to the south was altered and retained as part of a rear left wing to a planned, early C15 house. It was originally a 2-storey building with upper hall, the upper floor being approached by an external stair, and was extended to west in late C15 to make large upper chamber. The early C15 through-passage hall with a solar to the right (north), a projecting service end and 2-storey porch to the left, has a chapel (consecrated 1428) projecting to the NE. The porch and chapel were connected in the late C15 by a passage forming a late C15 front. Projecting to the south from the rear-left (SW) corner of the south wing is a C17 service wing. EXTERIOR: 2 storeys. Late C15 east front, of 5-window range with leaded windows, has five uneven forward-facing gables, that to the left, altered late C19, is set back, the chapel to the right projects forward; the long roof-line of the early C15 hall is visible behind. The chapel has a hoodmould over a 3-light window with panel tracery; the left return has two 2-light cinquefoil-headed windows under flat-arched hoodmoulds. The other gables, articulated by off-set buttresses, have original mullioned and transomed oriel windows of 2 and 3 cinquefoil lights with ogee arches to the upper panels, mask stops of symbols of the four Evangelists to the hoodmoulds (traces of early bright red and green paint were discovered, some are restored), and late C19 castellation. The gable to the right has a smoothly-corbelled rectangular 2-light oriel window supported by a central off-set buttress. Below, two plain 2-light windows, flanking the buttress, have similar hoodmoulds and low transoms. The gable to the right-of-centre, slightly wider, has a central buttress supporting a 3-light oriel window set in a narrow canted bay. To the left is a small single-light window with a plain label mould. To the right is a stack to the valley, to the ground-floor right is a 2-light window similar to that of the oriel, to the left are pointed granite arches to the porch, the original door with a ring handle; the left side of the porch has a similar arch to the former service end. The gable to the left-of-centre has a 2-light oriel window in a rectangular bay supported by an inverted triangle springing from a central foliate corbel with a plain shield to the front; simple brackets below the moulded sill with circular and square bosses to the coved lower edge. A 2-light window below has an ornamental band under the hoodmould and grotesque mask stops. The left-hand (south) gable to the service end, reconstructed C19, has an oriel window similar to that of the gable to the right, directly below it is a plain 4-light window. The rear (west) elevation, altered C19, has a long lateral roof to the hall with a lower hip-roofed projection to the left; a hip-roofed half-dormer to a tall 4-light window over a horizontal 9-light window, both to the upper end of the hall; a central single-storey canted bay with 3 lights to each facet has a hipped roof up to the eaves. The pointed-arched doorway to the rear of the through passage is to the left of the gabled 2-storey service end with 2-light windows to right of each floor, that to the ground floor has a hoodmould. The rear wing incorporating the C13 building projects westward. The 4-window north side in the rear courtyard is early C19, the gabled west end has a 2-storey C19 canted bay with a stable range extending to the right. North elevation has first-floor 2-light windows at eaves level, 2-light ground-floor windows have hoodmoulds. The C17 service wing running north-south has a wide segmental arch flanked by blind 4-light mullioned and transomed windows and other smaller windows. INTERIOR: the east end of the C13 house was rebuilt as a kitchen (the left-hand gable). 4 rough crossbeams; in the south wall is a massive fireplace of three roughly-dressed granite slabs that shares a flue with a brushwood oven to the left. The unheated service room to the south, left, of the porch and hall has 3 chamfered crossbeams with run-out stops resting on stone corbels. There were formerly 3 entrances, two remain, that from the south side of the porch and another just inside the porch into the screens passage. The panelled screen to the right is C17, repositioned from the former Mermaid Inn at Ashburton. The west end of the passage has a similar granite arch doors at each end have restored wooden bolts. The great hall is the full height of the house; it has 3 purlins to each side of a simple early C15 five-bay arch-braced collar beam roof on a decorative wallplate, once painted with red and yellow and decorated at the foot of each truss with a small carving. Some colour on the wallplate remains. Arms of Yarde and Ferrers in NE corner. To the centre of the east wall is a fireplace similar to that of the kitchen; to the north-east end is a wide pointed arch to the former bay window to the upper end of which 2 carved capitals to the impost remain, now filled with a richly-carved wooden screen of c1530-40, linenfold to the base, arabesques to the top, a door to the ante-chapel on the east front and a C20 tympanum. Painted on the upper part of the north wall is the upper part of an Elizabethan coat of arms. Beyond the hall is the parlour and solar (unseen), extended by one bay into the hall in the late C16, projecting into the hall with Tudor arms on dividing wall; it has a chimney in the north wall, a window seat under a 9-light window and a winding stair to the solar. The solar is lit by a half-dormer, both now altered. The early C15 chapel to the north-east, has a plastered wagon roof with significant bosses at the intersection of the ribs including the arms of Yarde and Ferrers. Flanking the 3-light panel-traceried east window are 2 high granite corbels for statues or candles. Early C15 west window, formerly an external window to parlour. The front half of the freestone top of the rubblestone altar was found serving as a gate post and recovered in 1927. The upper floor of the west wing, the former house, was extended in late C15 to make a large upper chamber approx 13m long. It has an arch-braced collar-beam roof with wind braces below the purlins. Evidence for remarkable surviving late C15 decorative schemes: restored east end is stencilled with black fleur-de-lys on a white ground; on the east wall is an unusual sacred monogram IHS with symbols of the Passion; on the south wall is a painted striped curtain. The room to the east was richly appointed in the late C17. It has a very fine coved ceiling ornamented with realistic fruit, flowers, swags and large shells above the cornice, full-height bolection-moulded panels flanking a cyma-moulded panel, two 2-panel doors and a fireplace with overmantel. The room in the south-east corner has an early C17 grand plaster armorial overmantel with a carved oak surround on the south wall. An early C19 corridor on 2 floors, with stairs, was added to the east side of the rear wing, to the first floor are 2 pointed-arched doors with intersecting panelling to the top and 2 rows of 4 pointed-arched panels below. A remarkably complete medieval manor house, including evidence for late medieval decorative schemes. Full description with plans in Pevsner and National Trust guide. (BoE: Pevsner N & Cherry B: Devon: London: 1989-: 587; National Trust: Guidebook: 1989-).

Listing NGR: SX8485170859

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

464566

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Cherry, B, The Buildings of England: Devon, (1989), 587
National Trust Guide in Bradley Manor, (1989)

End of official list entry

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