Description

SS 72 SW
5/139

MARIANSLEIGH
Finehay

II

House, originally built as an inn for Sir John Davy in 1630 (documentation seen by
owner), extended first in the C18, and again in the C19. Colourwashed and rendered,
the early part of the house said to be cob on low stone rubble footings, the C19 wing
stone; slate roof (formerly thatched) gabled at ends; front lateral stack with a tall
brick shaft, end stack to front wing, rear lateral stack to C19 kitchen wing.
Plan: Complex evolution. The main range faces east with an east wing at right angles
and a second wing, set forward from the main range but also east-facing, at the north
(right) end. The earliest part of the house is the south end; single depth and 2
rooms wide, the left hand room reduced to storage space at time of survey and
unheated, but possibly having lost a stack from the left end, which has been rebuilt.
The adjacent room, heated by the front lateral stack, has C17 carpentry detail and
has continued in use as part of the house. The end of the hipped roof of the C17
range is visible in the attic. The next phase appears to have been the addition of
the east wing and an extension of the main range to the right (north). It is not
clear how these rooms were used in the C18 but by the C19 it served as a parlour (in
the wing) and a stair hall and cellar to the rear, with an entrance in the angle
between the wing and the C17 block. The final phase of addition, in the C19,
provided a kitchen wing to the north.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical east front, 2 windows to the left (south) of the
east wing, 1 window to the end of the east wing and 2 windows to the C19 kitchen
wing. The windows are mostly C19 or C20 timber small-pane casements. Lean-to porch
in the angle between the main range and east wing, additional door on the front
directly into the kitchen wing, door into storeroom at the left. The left return has
a flight of external stone steps up to the loft over the store room.
Interior: The entrance leads into the stair hall with some slate paving in front of
the door. The left hand room has very deeply chamfered crossbeams with large stops
and an open fireplace, the original C17 lintel is still intact but damaged. The
probably C19 serving hatch between this room and the cellar has been preserved. The
ground floor room in the east wing retains a circa mid C19 timber chimney-piece and
iron grate.
Roof: The various phases of development can be seen in the roof trusses - a pegged
C17 collar rafter roof to the left with straight principals, an X apex C18 roof to
the east wing and a C19 roof to the kitchen.
The documented origins of the building as a purpose-built early C17 inn, are
particularly interesting.

Listing NGR: SS7429622071

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26401060

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

• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair