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
