History in Structure

Old Town House (Scaplens Court Museum)

A Grade I Listed Building in Poole Town, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.7129 / 50°42'46"N

Longitude: -1.9889 / 1°59'20"W

OS Eastings: 400879

OS Northings: 90359

OS Grid: SZ008903

Mapcode National: GBR XQ2.9F

Mapcode Global: FRA 67Q6.8YV

Plus Code: 9C2WP276+4C

Entry Name: Old Town House (Scaplens Court Museum)

Listing Date: 14 June 1954

Grade: I

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1275378

English Heritage Legacy ID: 412507

Also known as: Scaplen's Court, High Street
Old Town House
Scaplen's Court

ID on this website: 101275378

Location: Old Town, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Dorset, BH15

County: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Parish: Non Civil Parish

Built-Up Area: Poole

Traditional County: Dorset

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Dorset

Church of England Parish: Poole St James with St Paul

Church of England Diocese: Salisbury

Tagged with: House Local museum Historic house museum Museum building

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Description



POOLE

SZ0090SE HIGH STREET
958-1/17/64 (North West side)
14/06/54 Old Town House (Scaplens Court
Museum)

GV I

Merchant's house, now museum. Late C15-early C16, NW range
added, and NE range late C16; restored 1986. Coursed Purbeck
rubble incorporating various other stones, some Bath
dressings, later brickwork, and a tiled roof with stone slate
verges. L-shaped plan with left-hand wing, now enclosed round
a quadrangular courtyard.
2 storeys and cellar; 4-bay range. The SE front has two
4-centre-arched doorways to the right, the inner with moulded
surround and the flanking broken ends of a former porch;
right-hand one-light window with chamfered surround and a
one-light window with moulded surround and iron grille; late
C20 left-hand windows with chamfered surrounds and full-height
central canted bay with plate glass and lead-hung first-floor
apron with date of restoration (1986). A passage from the
entrance leads through a 4-centre arch to the courtyard.
The SW range has corbelled eaves, a mullioned window, a W
gable with stepped kneelers and tripartite first-floor C20
window. NW elevation has a 4-window range with sashes in
exposed frames.
The courtyard has on the SW side a shield of arms of Poole
over the doorway inscribed WP 1554, and 1729; across the SE
side is a C20 gallery with steps up to the first floor with a
large external stack, on the NW side a 4-centre-arched doorway
beneath a relieving arch and blocked window and a 3-light
first-floor mullion window, and to the NE side a 4-light
mullion window.
INTERIOR: the original house contains C15 four-centre-arched
fire surrounds to the SE range ground and first floors, and a
good fireplace with a large cambered stone lintel in the SW
ground-floor, and doorways with 4-centre-arched heads to ridge
and batten doors. The SE range has a through passage with a
left-hand hall and right-hand store.
The SW range has a ground-floor parlour with compartmented
ceiling of moulded beams in 9 square bays, the SW room has a
surviving fragment of stud partition with laths and lime
plaster, and a winder stair in the NE end to a C18 cellar; the
roof has principal and secondary trusses with continuous
arched braces to the collars, and 4 purlin registers with
windbraces to each quarter.
NW kitchen range has a late C15 fireplace, and an early C17
first-floor enriched plaster overmantel. C16 NE range has a
blind mullion and transom window to the outer first-floor
wall, and a collar truss roof with chamfered beams.
HISTORICAL NOTE: reputed to have been the former Guildhall,
possibly housed the George Inn in the C17, and was the home of
John Scaplen in the early C18. Developed from an L-shaped plan
into a courtyard plan, and is an outstanding example of a late
medieval quayside merchant's house. Full analysis with plan in
RCHME.
(RCHME: County of Dorset (South East): London: 1970-: 206;
Buildings of England: Pevsner N & Newman J: Dorset: London:
1972-: 306).


Listing NGR: SZ0087990359

External Links

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