Alverton Manor Hotel

Details

TRURO

SW8345SW TREGOLLS ROAD 880-1/5/294 (West side) 10/12/84 Alverton Manor Hotel (Formerly Listed as: TREGOLLS ROAD Convent of the Epiphany: Main Block and Hall) (Formerly Listed as: TREGOLLS ROAD Convent of the Epiphany: Chapel) (Formerly Listed as: TREGOLLS ROAD Convent of the Epiphany: West Wing)

GV II*

Large house, later convent, hall and chapel, now hotel. Original mid C19 house forming north/south range with hall to the west built for Mr Tweedy. The house was converted c1880 to a convent for the Sisters of the Epiphany (C of E), when the hall was converted to a chapel, and a bell tower and main entrance were added to the original entrance; the first-floor rooms of the north/south range were subdivided for cells. In 1903-1904 a north wing in a free Gothic style was added to provide additional accommodation for the nuns by E H Sedding of Plymouth. In 1908-1910 Sedding added a new chapel to the south in the Early English style, forming a V plan with the north/south range and north wing. A west wing in a free Tudor style, linked to the north/south range at first-floor level is probably coeval with the new chapel and may also be by Sedding. Walls of coursed, dressed and rubble local shale with brick and Bathstone dressings, some granite plinths. Some rendered walls to the rear; roofs of Delabole slate. South Entrance Facade: main entrance to left of chapel with bell and clock tower and octagonal belfry with embattled parapet. Staircase turret to left hand, single-storey slype with linked lancets to right hand. Angle buttresses with set-offs and moulded plinths. Wide 2-centred arched entrance with double boarded doors. Blocked opening above door, cinquefoil-headed 2-light window in a 2-centred arch with hood mould. Single-storey hall range to left has embattled mullioned and transomed bay window, moulded coping and plinth. Cross finial added when hall was converted to chapel. INTERIOR of hall: 5-bay canted roof with moulded main timbers carried on moulded and carved corbels. Wallplate carved with shields. 2 contemporary doors with architraved doorcases, third doorway replaced by 2-centred arched door into cupboard. Panelled timber dado. Bay window to the south has outer timber columns with bell capitals and inner timber arch carried on moulded and carved corbels. Deep, heavily moulded inner timber mullions. Stained glass by the Hardman Company with memorial date of 1889, filling all lights of the bay. Angels in the 6 panels above the transom, Presentation in the Temple below. North/south range: 2 storeys with attic. Asymmetrical front with 4 gables, 2 with stone coping and 2 with wooden eaves and barge boards. 6 stacks of rendered brick. Single storey embattled bay window range to north has 2 linked bays with plain parapet and first-floor bay window to south. First floor has 3 x 3-light casements in deeply moulded and chamfered architraves, repeated x6 with transoms to the north in plain chamfered architraves. First-floor bay window is canted with plain parapet and transomed casements. Ground-floor windows are 7 mullioned and transomed casements with chamfered architraves and flat toggled arches. INTERIOR of north/south range: present entrance below clock tower gives on to a vestibule before the original entrance to the mid-century house. This has a Perpendicular-style archway with hoodmould and pomegranate label stops: beyond this and giving into the stair hall is a glazed wooden internal doorway with flanking lights, all retaining contemporary foliate grisaille glazing. Gothic staircase with panelled newels and Gothic pierced balusters. Contemporary fleur-de-lis stencilling, painted over to the stair hall and stair well. On the first floor landing a Gothic-arched recess. Principal rooms of the mid-century house remain intact on the ground floor; marble fireplace surrounds to the southern rooms in the range; at the northern end of the range moulded timber fireplace surrounds contemporary with those in the north wing. North range: built against east-west slope of land. 2 storeys with attic, buttressed basement to the east. South facing asymmetrical elevation has hipped roof with gabled projection to west. Main entrance on front at west below semi-octagonal corbelled oriel projection for stair turret. Main entrance has 2-centred arch and dripmould, panelled door. Basement entrance to east has 2-centred arch and panelled door. Bay window in gabled projection has 4 mullioned and transomed lights. Long bay window to right of gabled projection has 9+5 mullioned and transomed lights. Two trefoil-headed 3-light windows flank the buttress. First-floor windows are six 1-, 2- and 3-light casements. Attic storey has 3-light casement to gabled projection; 3-light casement to gable dormer to east, and timber casements to 3 roof dormers. INTERIOR of north range: main entrance gives on to staircase with 2 timber depressed arches on freestanding columns, the right-hand arch giving to the north/south range, the left hand to the staircase proper gives access to the north range. Staircase has newels with Arts and Crafts finials, and closely-spaced turned balusters. Upper floor and attic taken by conventual cells. Most with corner fireplaces. Principal floor and basement used for offices, segmental internal arches before the windows on the principal floor. Chapel: 1908-1910 by E H Sedding of Plymouth. Rusticated local shale with ashlar dressings and plain ashlar parapets. Slate roof hipped at west end. Built against the east-west slope of the land. Early English style with 5-sided apsidal east end with undercroft, 5-bay nave, south-east vestry with basement, 1-bay north projection and polygonal projecting north stair turret to undercroft. Polygonal slype at north west may be a later addition. Buttresses to nave and apse have set-offs, angle buttresses with set-offs to vestry and projection. Single lancet windows under hoodmoulds to 4 western most bays of nave and 5 bays of apse, similar lancet on west return of projection. Triple lancets to undercroft. Single lancets to vestry, painted lancets to vestry basement. Moulded strings below parapet and sill level. Parapet has moulded cornice. Chamfered arched west doorway with hoodmould is carried on polygonal engaged shafts. Arched doorway into slype under square-headed hoodmould, single lancet to right of slype door, triple lancet above. Undercroft window on north side of 5 lancets slightly recessed under segmental moulded arch. Chamfered arched doorway into undercroft on north side. INTERIOR of Chapel: vaulted stone roof with quadripartite bays and moulded ribs carried on columns engaged below sill level and detached above. Columns have moulded bases and 3 shafts with bed mouldings between. Large carried stone boss in apse depicts the Adoration. Coved west gallery has timber-panelled frontal with some linenfold panelling. Tall arch into north projection which has vaulted stone roof. White marble steps up to east end, one step chequered with black marble. Trefoil-headed piscina carried on detached shafts. South windows in nave plain glass with leaded panes. 3 north windows and apse windows by Kempe and Tower. North windows illustrate scenes associated with the Epiphany. The 5 lancets in the apse form a single design of Christ in Majesty. Windows signed with the wheatsheaf and tower signature of the firm. Clayton and Bell window in north projection. Projection has stone newel stair leading to undercroft. Slype windows by the Hardman Company. Some fittings now at Copeland Court (qv). West Wing: linked to main range at first-floor level by covered bridge with slate roof and 5-light mullioned window on south side. Built against east-west slope of land. 3 storeys and basement to east with buttresses with set offs, 2 storeys and attic to west. Asymmetrical block with raking roofs with gabled ends and 6 stone chimneys, chimney to south ashlar. South elevation gabled to west, with gabled projection at east. 2-storey canted bay to east projection with transomed mullioned windows to each storey. Single-storey canted bay window immediately to the west of the projection. Other windows 2-light mullioned casements. Main entrance in west elevation at left, 2 basement entrances on east side. External stone stair with curved retaining wall leads from yard at north-east to rear of west wing.

Listing NGR: SW8315945140

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