Description

SX 69 SE SOUTH TAWTON

4/163 Oxenham Manor including front
garden walls to north and rear
20.2.52 courtyard walls to south,
(previously listed as Oxenham
House)
GV II

Small country house. Probably 1714, thoroughly refurbished in the mid C20.
Plastered walls, probably stone rubble, may be some cob; stone rubble stacks, the
ones of 1714 have granite ashlar chimneyshafts, starting from the roof as divided
shafts, joining near the top, and having moulded granite coping, slate roof.
Plan: double depth house facing north. The plan was not made precisely clear since
only limited internal inspection was possible at the time of this survey.
Nevertheless it seems that there are 3 rooms front and back. The end rooms are
heated by gable-end stacks and there-is a central rear lateral stack. Entrance
lobby with stairs to rear (this section recessed on the back) is left (west) of
centre. The rear courtyard walls incorporate some of the earlier house. The
present house appears to be the result of a 1714 rebuild; it is 2 storeys with C20
single storey extension on right (east) end.
Exterior: regular but not symmetrical 6-window front of C19 and replacement C20 12-
pane sashes. The 2 doorways this side both contain C20 doors; the one left of
centre is the main front door. Main roof is gable-ended adorned with the
chimneyshafts described above. Seventh similar front window in flat roofed
extension to right. Rear is less regular and contains C20 casements with glazing
bars, but also left of centre a presumably reset C16 or C17 granite 2-centred arch
with moulded surround.
Interior: only limited internal inspection was possible. The mid C20 refurbishment
was apparently thorough. For instance, the front right end room has a plain
crossbeam and exposed joists, stripped of their plaster, and a plain granite
fireplace with unchamfered oak lintel, missing its chimneypiece. The entrance hall
however is wholly original. It is lined with bolection-moulded panelling in 2
heights with moulded dado. At the rear a good 1714 dogleg stairs with square newel
posts, moulded flat handrail and turned vase-like balusters.
A high granite rubble wall encloses the rear (southern) courtyard. The back wall is
apparently the wall of an earlier house since it shows window and doorway embrasures
and the curving recess of a newel stair. In front (north) of it a large fireplace
alcove has been converted to a seat and there are the massive-granite grind-stones
from the former cider house here. The front (north) garden of the house is also
enclosed by granite rubble walls. On the side nearest the drive (the west side) the
wall ramps down to a lower level and in the middle includes gate posts; these are
monolithic granite uprights with moulded edges, facetted caps and curving bracket-
like decoration similar to that on the forecourt gate posts (q.v.) which are dated
1714.
This was the home of the Oxenham family from the C13 to 1814.
Source: Devon SMR.

Listing NGR: SX6649594231

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26464000

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

• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)