Description

LITTLE TORRINGTON
SS 41 NE
6/118 Cross House
4.10.60
II*

Country house. 1680-85 according to Pevsner with C18 alterations and further
remodelling in early C19. In mid C20 the house was reduced in size. Rendered stone
walls. Hipped slate double span roof. 2 rendered axial stacks.
Plan: Double depth plan, 3 rooms wide with large central stairhall. Originally there
were 2 flanking wings which presumably contained the service rooms. When Stow
House, the late C17 Grenville mansion in Cornwall, was demolished in 1720 some of its
fitments were transferred to Cross, including the staircase. Further modifications
took place in the early C19 when the exterior of the house appears to have undergone
remodelling. In the mid C20 the top storey of the house and its 2 wings were
removed.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Symmetrical 3 bay 7 window front, disposed 2:3:2, 12-pane
sashes on first floor, those to the right are early C19 whereas those at the centre
and left have thicker glazing bars suggesting they are original. 15-pane early C19
sashes on ground floor with contemporary insertion of off central doorway with semi-
circular fanlight over glazed door. Early C19 Tuscan portico of 4 granite columns
with heavy frieze and cornice. The original form of the front is retained in the
projecting keystones over the windows, the rusticated pilasters at either end, the
moulded plinth and slightly projecting central bay. One storey section of wall at
either end is all that survives of the 2 wings. The rear elevation has mainly early
C19 9, 12 and 15 pane sashes apart from 2 C19 French windows to the left and an C18
12-pane sash to right of centre on first floor. 2 6-panel doors-one to left of
centre and one at centre. Above the right-hand one is a flat doorhood on C17 or C18
carved consoles; the left-hand door has a reeded doorhood with dentilled cornice on
C17 or C18 console brackets.
Interior: Inaccessible at time of survey but recorded to contain an early Venetian
window at the rear. Fitments transferred from Stow include a very fine staircase of
3 flights around an open well with closed string and openwork carving in the Gibbons
style - Irish foliage, flowers, putti etc. Other fragments from Stow in other rooms.

Listing NGR: SS4871517543

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17536428

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

• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)