Old Manor House

Summary

A dwellinghouse, of C17 date or earlier with a C19 addition and later alterations.

Reasons for Designation

Old Manor House, Stowell Hill Road, Tytherington, South Gloucestershire, a single-cell dwelling of late-C16/ early-C17 date, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Architectural: although modest in architectural terms, the building's stone elevations and steep gabled dormers make it a very good example of the Cotswold vernacular traditions. The fine quality door case gives some architectural flourish, although it is now contained within the C19 kitchen extension;
* Historical Interest: this is a rarely surviving example of an early, single-cell vernacular dwelling. Its development in the C19 is illustrated in its structure. The building is recorded as standing on the site of the "former Lord's house";
* Intactness: a significant proportion of the historic fabric and plan remains largely intact. Internal partitioning is reversible and, along with the C19 extension, demonstrates the changing needs of occupants over hundreds of years;
* Interior fittings: the decoration to the ground floor beams, and the design of the winder stair, are of quality craftsmanship.

History

Tytherington is a rural village with an historic economy of agriculture, cloth making and malting. It has had a long history of occupation, and an Early Iron Age hillfort, known as The Castle, stands to the west. The Church of St James was established in Tytherington in Norman times by the monks of Llanthony Abbey, and the Old Manor House is recorded as being on the site of the former Lord's house. Old Manor House is of C17 date, possibly earlier, and stood within the extent of the medieval settlement at Tytherington. It is shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1881. The small extension to the south is shown on this map and is probably of mid-C19 date. During the C19 Tytherington had a busy industrial economy, focused on lime quarrying and burning. In the C20 a stone porch was built on the front of the building, and a concrete block lean-to at the south corner of the rear. The dwelling has C20 internal subdivisions to create separate living, washing and bedroom areas.

Details

A C17 house with a C19 addition, and later alterations.

MATERIALS: rubble stone with brick window heads to the later addition and a brick stack. The roofs are covered in clay Roman tiles. The first floor and roof structures are oak.

PLAN: square on plan, this is a single unit house that has been subdivided internally and has a single-bay extension at the south end. The ground floor is divided laterally beneath a principal beam to create two living areas. At the north-west end there is a further partition to create a utility room and bathroom. To the right of the main entrance is a winder stair. To the first floor, partitioning has been inserted to create a small landing and two bedrooms. To the left of the landing is a further bedroom which is in the C19 addition, with a kitchen to the ground floor.

EXTERIOR: two-stories with steep central gables to the front and rear, set within the main pitched roof. There are two-light windows centrally-placed to each floor, on the front and rear. To the left of the front elevation is a small stair window under the eaves. Further left, the C19 extension is set back, and the junction between is infilled with an enclosed C20 porch under a lean-to roof. The C19 extension has a window to the front and an upper window to the south flank, both under red brick heads. The rear of the extension and the main house is infilled with a C20 concrete block lean-to. To the left of the rear elevation is a small stone-built outshut under a Roman tile roof. The north flank has a two-light window to the left and right on the ground floor, and a centrally-placed opening above. At attic level is a sealed window opening.

INTERIOR: the building is entered via the porch and C19 extension, through a four-centred arch door standing on stone plinths. The jamb to the right is cut away. The supporting structure for the first floor comprises chamfered lateral and transverse beams with either run-out or diagonal-cut stops to each end, in a consistent arrangement. The timber winder stair has some replacement treads. A substantial chamfered tie beam spans the two principal bedrooms, running from front to rear, and with run-out stops to the east end. The west end has been cut away, possibly to provide head room. The roof above the tie beam was inaccessible. Doors are timber plank with braces and ledges. There are modern subdivisions to each floor.

Sources

Books and journals
Hall, L, The Rural Houses of North Avon & South Gloucestershire 1400-1720, (1983), 22

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