Crown House

Summary

Crown House was originally constructed probably in the C18, and was extended and refurbished in the early C19. The building became a public house during the second half of the C19 and reverted to a dwelling in the first decade of the C20.

Reasons for Designation

Crown House in Chedzoy, an C18 building that was extended in the early C19, and was later used as a public house, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architecture: the house is a good survival of a C18 vernacular building which was extended and refurbished in the early C19
* Interior: for retaining a good proportion of mid- to late-C19 pub fittings including several panelled doors with ventilation panels, fixed bench seating, and the internal glazed partition to one of the former public rooms
* Group value: it contributes to the local street scene and forms a good grouping with other listed buildings nearby

History

Crown House was a dwelling until circa 1859 when it was first licensed as a public house. It was known as the Crown Inn and continued to trade until 1901. It was subsequently sold by the brewery Starkey Knight and was converted back to a dwelling. The building comprises two principal phases of construction. Stylistically the double-fronted western part appears to date from the C18 and was originally a dwelling; it was extended to the east by a taller range in the early C19. A building is depicted in this location on the Ordnance Survey first series of 1809 and also on the Ordnance Survey map of 1889 and its footprint remains largely unchanged since the late C19.

Details

MATERIALS: it is built of brick with roughcast render to the rear and right (west) return. The roof is clad with double-Roman tiles in two distinct portions: the original part has a gabled roof with brick stacks, while the left-hand addition is of greater height and has a hipped roof and a large stack to the east side.

PLAN: the building is L-shaped on plan, comprising a double-fronted house which was extended to the east with a single-bay addition in the early C19. To the rear of the earlier part of the building is a rear range and attached former ancillary buildings that have been converted to residential use.

EXTERIOR: the principal (north) elevation fronts onto Ward Lane. The earlier part of the building is of three bays and has a slightly off-centre doorway with a gabled brick porch and a six-panelled door with glazing to the upper panels. There are three-light casement windows with glazing bars to either side of the entrance and matching two-light casements to the first floor, all under stepped voussoirs. The early-C19 addition to the left has a sixteen-pane sash window to both the ground and first floors, also under stepped voussoirs. The left (east) return is built in a conforming style with pairs of sash windows to each floor. The rear of the addition is blind except for a doorway to the right-hand end. A single-storey lean-to has been added to this side. The rear elevation of the original cottage is more vernacular in character and has two-light casement windows, several of which are later replacements.

INTERIOR: there is a central hallway to the earlier part of the building with rooms to both sides of the hall. Fixed wooden seating and plank doors with small openings to provide ventilation survive in some of the principal rooms provide evidence of the building's former use as an inn, although some of the joinery is made of reclaimed timber and are later introductions. The fireplaces have simple timber surrounds, some of which have been embellished or are replacements, and the fireplace in the rear room retains an early-C20 range. The room to the left of the hall has a timber and glass partition screen. The ground-floor room in the C19 addition retains its panelled window shutters. An enclosed stair leads to the first-floor landing. There are fireplaces to most of the bedrooms, although the fire surround of at least one of them has been modified in the late C20. Only the roof of the rear range of the original cottage was inspected, and these roof timbers are modern replacements. The attached former outbuildings have been converted to residential use, but the northern half retains a king post roof with raking struts.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

269534

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
The Victoria History of the County of Somerset: Volume VI, (1992)

Websites
First Series (1809), sheet 20, accessed from http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=12555

End of official list entry

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