Details
ST40NE MISTERTON CP CHURCH LANE (West side)
6/166 The Old Court and Court Close,
with Court Place and Old Court
Cottage
4.2.58
GV II
Two houses subsequently linked to form one, extended and now subdivided. C16, modified in C17, Cl9 and C20. Ham stone
cut and squared, ashlar dressings; Bridgwater patent interlocking clay tiles, akin to double Roman, between stepped
coped gabled; brick and stone chimney stacks. Complex plan: Old Court on the east-west axis, and Court Close, on
north-south axis, were linked in C17 to make one house of 'L'-plan. Court Place is a south range planted alongside Old
Court in C19; Old Court Cottage to rear of Court Close essentially a C20 wing; stable block to north of Court Close,
extending eastwards, completes the plan. Two storeys with attic: principal west elevation has gable of Court Place,
then the gable of Old Court, followed by 4 bays of Court Close, and the projecting stable wing. Court Place gable
plain. The Old Court gable has string courses; ovolo-mould mullioned windows in wave-mould recesses, 3-light with label
to ground floor, 3-light with transome breaking into string at first floor level, and to attic a small
triangular-arched stairlight with hood. The gable is crowned by an octagonal stone chimney stack under which is a small
plaque, the inscription almost lost but thought to have been placed there by Merifield Hallett in 1660 to commemorate
the restoration of the monarchy. To lower right of gable a C20 door in segmental-arched opening with heavy plain ashlar
surround. Court Close also had mullioned windows: to ground floor bays 1 and 2 the mullions removed from labelled
3-light windows and 2-light casements inserted; to first floor and between bays a 4-light without label, and small
triangular-headed stairlight to right. Bays 3 and 4 break forward; to bay 3 are hollow-chamfer mullioned windows in
chamfered recesses, 4-light with label below and 5-light without label above, both rectangular leaded: to bay 4 first
floor a small tranceried window, possibly a C14 window reused, under a square label. Below a segmental-arched doorway
in plain recess under label, with C20 door. Projecting forward to north of this the stable wing, late C18, 5 bays with
matching walls and roof, single-storey with attic. Semi-circular-arched windows with mullioned and double-transomed
rectangular-leaded casement windows, with a 2-light casement window in hipped roof dormer over bay 1: semi-circular
archway in east gable, C20 openings in north flank. Interiors not seen, but both considerably altered: a variety of
chamfered beams exist at ground floor level; three earlier fireplaces survive, one cambered-arched and moulded; one
cambered-arched doorway in a timber-framed wall: roof trusses mostly tie-beam pattern. A holding of Crewkerne Manor
known in late C13, and called 'Sporisplace' after Spoure family who owned it from 1399. In C19 generally known as
Misterton Lodge, the name Old Court dates from 1924. A c1700 drawing shows the property from the east similar to its
present form, the present stable wing replacing a service wing of similar size. The attached properties of Court Place
and Old Court Cottage included for their group value. (VCH Somerset, Vol IV, 1978, pp63-61j SSAVBRG Report, unpublished
SRO, February 1984.
Listing NGR: ST4521408141
