Description

881/0/10055
06-AUG-03

ST JUST
Porthledden House

II

House. Circa 1907-9; for the mineralogist Francis Oats. Coursed brown granite with grey granite dressings. Cumberland slate roof with coped gable ends with kneelers. Granite axial stacks with moulded caps.
PLAN: South range with porch to front and cross-wing and conservatory to east; range behind forming E-shaped elevation to west and service ranges to north.
Jacobethan style.
EXTERIOR: 2 storeys and attic. Asymmetrical 4-bay south front with gabled cross-wing on right and 2-storey gabled porch to left of centre; large granite 3-,4- and 5-light mullion-transom windows with leaded panes and hoodmoulds; stringcourse at first floor level; porch has moulded 4-centred arch doorway with hoodmould and double doors with cover-moulds and wrought-iron strap hinges, large 4-light first floor window with pointed arch lights and in gable above a granite panel with a carved shield; two flat roof dormers. West elevation has projecting gables to left and right, centre set back with moulded 4-centred arch 2-bay loggia [rib-vaulted and with a niche inside] with a bowed corbelled oriel above with a crenellated parapet and a gable above that. Single storey granite conservatory on east side with large granite mullion-transom windows and parapet concealing glazed roof. Service ranges to north with plainer elevations, but also with stone mullion windows with leaded panes.
INTERIOR not inspected, but apparently has moulded plaster rib ceilings, chimneypieces and other joinery including a fine staircase; conservatory has a glazed cast-iron roof.
NOTE: Francis Oats was a captain at Botallack mine before he was appointed Inspector of Mines by the Colonial Office. He became manager of the Victoria Diamond Mine in South Africa and later chairman of De Beers.
Porthledden House is a good example of an early C20 gentleman's house with associations with the mining industry.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26669942

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.

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