Description

ST HILARY
SW 53 SE
2/124 Ennys Farmhouse

GV II*

Farmhouse. C17 or earlier, remodelled and enlarged circa early-mid C18. Granite
rubble with granite dressings. Scantle slate roofs with gable ends. Stone stacks
over gable ends; large lateral stone stack over rear of right hand room and brick
stack over gable end of rear wing.
Plan: now an overall irregular T-shaped plan. Remains of C17 or earlier house to
far right, (now dairy) and C17 rear wall of right hand reception room with formerly
external lateral fireplace. In the C18 the left-hand end of the house was mostly
rebuilt and extended to create asymmetrical 2 room plan house with stair hall behind
a central entrance hall and a back kitchen was built or remodelled from a C17 wing at
right angles behind the right hand room. The former through passage of the C17 house
and part of the former hall was remodelled as a dairy with a fireplace incorporating
a C17 roll moulded jambstone and a chamfered jambstone. The probably circa early C17
front doorway inscribed HMM 1688 is still in situ. Circa later C18 or early C19 an
outshut was added behind the left hand room.
Exterior : 2 storeys. Symmetrical 5 window south-east front with central doorway
plus lower dairy front right with C17 doorway. C18 doorway has C18 or early C19 6-
panel door with geometric glazed overlight. The windows are circa late C18 or early
C19 12-pane sashes with much crown glass. Coving over the first floor windows and
C17 ovolo moulded beams reused as lintels. The C17 doorway has cavetto and ovolo
moulding and crossed dice stops.
Stair hall has a tall 6 over 9-pane hornless sash.
Service wing has 2 original C18 12-pane hornless sashes with wide glazing bars
internally ovolo moulded (ground floor right-hand wall), otherwise later sashes.
Interior : C17 features : part of a roof truss set into the right-hand gable end of
the taller part of the house and at a much lower level than the main roof back wall
of hall with hall fireplace in original position; and reused jambstones to dairy
fireplace. C18 features : most of the original circa mid C17 structure, carpentry,
joinery and plasterwork survives including : stone flags to entrance and stair hall
open-well closed string stair with column-on-vase turned balusters; moulded cornices
to ground floor of stair hall and entrance hall; eared doorcases and 6-panel doors to
reception rooms; full panelling and modillioned cornice to right hand room; plaster
modillioned cornice to left-hand room; ceiling cornices to rear chamber of service
wing; 2-panel doors to chambers; C20 reconstructed plaster barrel ceiling to central
front chamber and ceiling beams with straight chamfers and run-out stops to kitchen.
Otherwise C19 features including a fine circa late C19 chimneypiece in C18 style in
the right hand room, fitted to C17 hall fireplace.
Ennys was the home of the Millet family in the C17 and C18 (see Millet Monument qv.,
St Hilary churchyard).
An interesting house exemplifying clearly the way in which it was often the practice
to retain part of the earlier house in C18 rebuilds. Ennys incorporates vestiges of
former C17 house of high quality and retains most features of the fine C18 house
which largely replaced it.

Listing NGR: SW5589132693

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17531195

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

• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)