Caseley Court

Details

LUSTLEIGH SX 78 SE

1/144 Casely Court - 23.8.55 GV II*

House. Late C16 or early C17, with later additions; the lower, left-hand end could be the remnant of an earlier house. Stone rubble covered with roughcast. Thatched roof, half-hipped to left. 2 granite ashlar chimneystacks with tapered tops on ridge, the left-hand stack crenellated. C19 or C20 rendered stack on right wing. 3-room and through-passage plan, the parlour end developed into a cross-wing with projection at the front; original 2-storeyed entrance porch with lean-to additions at either side. The plan is unusual for Devon in that there is a double stack at the upper end, heating both hall and parlour, and at the lower end a stack of at least C17 date backing on to the through-passage. Stair-turret with canted sides at rear of hall and parlour stack. 2 storeys. The entrance front, facing north-east, has few windows. In the centre is the gabled entrance-porch, the front of which seems to have been partly remodelled. The upper storey, which has close- studding (exposed internally) in left wall, is supported by a double-ovolo moulded beam; this is carried by 2 similarly moulded posts, set in from the ends of the beam as if the porch had originally been jettied at each side. There was almost certainly a jetty at the front, since the sawn-off joist-ends are visible on top of the beam. There are no windows to left of the porch, although a blocked opening can just be discerned. To right of the porch, concealed by a C20 lean-to, each storey has a 2-light ovolo-moulded mullioned window, the upper window having a diagonally-set bar in the centre of each light. The cross-wing at right-hand end, which has been cut back slightly, has a C20 lean-to ground storey and a 2-light wood casement window with 3 panes per light in the second storey. the rear wall, which has no projections apart from the original stair turret and a shallow C18 or C19 stair projection at the lower end, has wood casement windows with small panes either leaded or in wooden glazing bars. Flanking the back door of through-passage are 2 wooden columns, probably C17, with moulded caps and bases; they may have belonged to a former porch. Interior: former hall has double-ovolo moulded upper-floor beam with bar-stops and a similar half-beam against the chimneystack. Scratch-moulded joists both sides. At the lower end, against the through-passage, is a plank and muntin screen, the carved with a large fish, within which is the date 1771 and the initials SN, believed to be for Samuel Nosworthy. The door-head in the screen has been cut off, but there is a plank door on strap-hinges. Wooden door-frame to stair turret has cranked head. Doorway to former parlour has square-headed wooden frame with scroll-stops and a plank door. Large fireplace with jambs made of large pieces of granite; double-ovolo moulded wood lintel with run-out stops. Large oven with stone-framed opening having a curved head; shallow granite shelf in front. Interior of oven has brick dome but sides are of large pieces of granite. Former parlour, now sub-divided has a chamfered beam with run-out stops. Staircase has stone rubble steps and a small slit window. The through-passage has plain joists above it. On the lower side there is a dado of C18 raised-and-fielded ovolo- moulded panelling. This backs on to the rear of the lower-room stack, which, to judge from a small exposed piece carved with the initials TW, is probably of granite ashlar; it has a large, hollow-moulded cornice at the top. A C18 panelled door leads into the lower room, which has a C18 moulded plaster cornice all round the edge of the ceiling. In the corner next to the fireplace is an early C18 cupboard with shaped shelves; it has upper and lower doors with ovolo-moulded raised-and-fielded panels, the panel of the lower door ogee-headed. The fireplace is C17 or earlier, with splayed granite jambs; the wooden lintel is chamfered with straight-cut stops. In second storey the room over the hall has a fireplace with splayed granite jambs and granite hearth; ovolo-moulded wood lintel with raised run-out stops. At either side of the stack, leading to the staircase and room over the parlour, are doorways with chamfered, square-headed wood frames having rounded step-stops; a matching doorway leads from the staircase to the room over the parlour. In the room over the lower end is a fireplace with bolection-moulded wood architrave and moulded cornice of circa 1700. The same room has an early C18 wall- cupboard with panelled door. The roof timbers are exposed in all the unpstairs rooms; none appear to be earlier than the late C16, although Mr Dick Wills of Narracombe, Ilsington, says there was smoke-blackened thatch before restoration in circa 1970. The roof over the lower end has no trusses, the purlins spanning from gable wall to stack. Over the hall is a truss with plain feet, the collar halved and with shaped ends. It is not clear whether the truss has through or threaded purlins or whether it has a ridge. The stable, which makes a good group with the house, is separately listed. The house is reported to have old deeds going back to the purchase of the freehold by John Carnsley in 1378. Principal families owning it subsequently were the Nosworthys and the Wills. A share in Lustleigh Manor and grazing rights go with the property. Source: information from the present owner, Mrs Sims, based on deeds in the Devon Record office.

Listing NGR: SX7858282118

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

84587

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LBS

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