Description

CHULMLEIGH
SS 61 SE
5/8 Colleton Manor
9.6.52
GV I

House. Medieval origin, remodelled or rebuilt probably in 1612 by Humphrey
Bury, altered in circa late C17 or early C18 and again in late C19 and or early
C20. Local sedimentary stone dressed and brought to course and with granite
dressings. Slate roof with granite coped gable ends with moulded caps and ball
finials at the apexes. Gable end, axial and lateral stacks with dressed stone
shafts with moulded caps.
Plan and development: The existing house is largely the result of a major
remodelling if not an entire rebuilding by Humphrey Bury in 1612. The only
recognisable features of the Medieval house (apart from the chapel/gate house
qv) are the cellar windows at the lower west end, the hall's small rear window
and the former passage rear doorway, none of which are certainly insitu.
The present house has a large hall at the right hand (east) end heated from a
lateral fireplace at the back; the hall is unusually long and narrow which
suggests it is on the site of the Medieval house. The screens passage at the
left (west) end of the hall has a 2 storey porch at the front. The lower left
side partition of the passage was removed to form a wide entrance hall probably
is about the late C17 or early C18 and probably coeval with the building of the
stair tower behind the entrance hall which rises to a spacious landing on the
first floor and up to attics in the roof qv. The stair tower is in the angle
with the wide cross-wing at the lower left end. The cross-wing has a cellar, a
parlour on the ground floor heated from a lateral stack on the left side, two
heated bedchambers above and an attic in the roof. The common rafter and
tie-beam room structure provides two large attic spaces, one over the cross-
wing and the other over the main range with access from the stair tower.
In spite of the early character of its gable end stack and its stair turret the
kitchen wing at the rear of the higher right hand end is a C19 replacement of an
earlier parallel rear range depited in a C19 engraving. This earlier range must
have dated back to the C17 and would explain the C17 doorcase in the back wall
of high end of the hall. The present rear wing returns with a later C19 or
early C20 single storey service range forming a rear courtyard. The courtyard
(now garden) at the front is now open on the left (west) side and on the right
side there is a long wing projecting from the higher end of the house; it might
be C17 or at least in part C17. The gate house/chapel qv archway is not in line
with the screens-passage of the house. In front of the gate house there was
probably in C17 another courtyard surrounded by stables and other outbuildings.
Exterior: 2 storey and attic with cellar and the left hand cross- wing.
Five-bay south front symmetical but for the long wing to right. Central 2 -
storey gabled porch and wide gabled cross-wing to the left. All granite
mullion-transom windows with hood moulds and later casements with leaded panes;
ground floor left and right of porch 4-light and to left in cross-wing 6-lights
all with king mullions; first floor windows are mostly later replacements.
Granite roll-moulded porch doorway with segmental, almost round arch and
hoodmould with niche above holding arms; moulded timber inner doorframe.
Long 2-storey wing to right, the inner west elevation of 5-bays with 3-light
mullion windows, only 3 of the left end have original granite frames; the gable
end has 4-light window in place of earlier doorway. The right hand (east) gable
end of main range has granite 2-light first floor and attic windows. The left
hand side of the cross-wing has a lateral stack with set-offs and to left and
right late C19 or early C20 2-light windows and earlier cellar windows with
4-centred arch headed lights.
The rear north elevation has gabled cross-wing to right with C20 orial and
projecting gabled stair tower in its left hand angle; the main range to left has
various early windows and a large projecting lateral stack with set-offs and
tall shaft with a moulded cap; to the left of stack a 4-light granite mullion
window with king mullion and a wooden 4-light moulded-transom window above. To
the right of the stack the back doorway of the screen passage has a moulded
(cavetto and cyma) 2-centred arch frame with convex stops and hoodmould above to
the left a 2-light window with 4-centred heads and above circa late C17 or early
C18 2 and 3 light wooden windows. The rear service wing projects to left and
has large projecting gable end stack with tall shaft, late C19 casements and
pentice for access to single storey service wing which returns to form a
courtyard behind the house.
Interior: Hall has a fine single rib moulded plaster ceiling; from 3 large
pendants ribs radiate into kite-shaped designs and moulded rib panels with
floral sprays at the corners. The moulded plaster frieze is dated 1612. The
large lateral fireplace has hollow chamfered granite jambs with ball stops, the
chamfer continued into a large cambered timber lintel. Doorway at the rear of
the high end of the hall has a cyma moulded wooden frame, the stops worn away.
The C17 dado panelling in the hall has a carved frieze, Screen at lower end of
hall with chamfered stiles and rails and small panels and carved pulvinated
frieze above. On the lower left side of the screen is the entrance hall with a
C19 moulded plaster cornice and granite fireplace. Behind the entrance hall a
staircase in a closed well with late C19 or early C20 balustrade.
The parlour (drawing room) has on 2 sides fine early C17 panelling divided by
pilasters with strapwork bases and palm leaf carved shafts in pairs with debased
Ionic capitals over which are the arms of the Bury family in a strapwork
friege. The ceiling is embossed paper in imitation of plasterwork and the
chimneypiece is C19. Tudor arch doorway with double cyma moulding into cellar
under parlour; the cellar has 2 large chamfered cross-beams, the stops rotted
and unchamfered joists; C18 panelled door at top of cellar stairs.
The joinery on first floor is mainly C19 except for the 2 bedchambers in the
cross-wing the front room has early C18 fielded panelling and cornice with a
fireplace across the corner and the back room has only panelled window reveals
and a moulded wooden cornice and both room have C18 fielded 2-panel doors. The
large timber column on the landing supporting a beam in the front wall is a
later introduction.
The joinery and plaster cornice in the front (north east) wing are C19 and so
probably is the small Tudor arch fireplace on the ground floor. The kitchen in
the rear wing has a large blocked fireplace and in a turret at the side a wide
newel staircase.
Roof: Unusual for Devon there are C17 common rafter roofs over the main range
and cross-wind providing 2 large uninterrupted attic spaces. The large
scantling oak rafters have mortice and tenon jointed apexes and are similarly
jointed at their feet to the ties, on which there are floorboards; the attics
were probably originally plastered. There is no ridge-piece or purlins to
prevent racking and the roof depends on the battens for lateral support. There
is an opening in the rafters connecting the two attics. The roofs over the
front and rear wings at the higher end are nailed softwood structures.
Historical Note: Colleton was the seat of the Burys from the late C14 until
1804 when it passed to Capt. Richard Incledon RN, one of whose daughters married
the Rev. John Russell, the hunting parson. The chapel(qv) at Colleton was
first licenced in 1318 and again in 1402 and 1413.
Sources Hoskins W.G., Devon page 368. Country Life 28th August 1915 pp
296-301. Engraving by E. Ashworth.

Listing NGR: SS6687014672

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17526551

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]