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
