Description

LAUNCESTON

SX3285 ST STEPHEN'S HILL 660-1/3/149 (North East side) St Stephen's House, St Stephen's Cottage, attached walls and gazebo

GV II

Rectory, now 2 houses. c1700, extended early/mid and mid/late C18. Stucco to front and left-hand return; rubble and some slatehanging on studwork at rear; steep rag slate hipped roof; rubble axial, possibly originally lateral, stacks and rear gable stack to wing. Double-depth plan possibly a mid C18 development of original single-depth plan, plus later single wing on right and 2 small rear lean-tos. 2 storeys over basement; symmetrical 3-window front plus 1-window wing at back on right. Late C19 four-pane horned sashes; central elliptically-arched doorway with early C19 six-panel door. C20 conservatory over entrance bridge approached by 2 flights of granite steps, 6-panel basement door with continuous ledges visible inside central wine cellar. Rear has 5 early C19 hornless sashes with glazing bars including tall window to slate-hung stair projection; flat arches or oak lintels; original 2-panel door plus old basement door and shuttered coal hatch. Service wing (St.Stephen's Cottage) has early C19 sixteen-pane hornless sashes to front; symmetrical 3-window front to right-hand return with early C19 twelve-pane sash on right and horned copy on left, over C20 windows and central blocked window over C20 door. INTERIOR: many interesting original or mid C18 features including wide open-well open-string staircase with moulded ramped handrail over turned balusters, carved tread ends, panelled newels and fielded dado panelling; 2-panel doors most with H hinges; some HL hinges, some with fielded panels, also a 2-panel door of the primitive 3-plank type with planted rails (rear right-hand attic); smaller attic stair with turned balusters; moulded ceiling cornices to stair hall, rear right-hand room and 2 rear chambers; bolection-moulded chimney-piece with moulded cornice to front right-hand chamber and possibly slightly later eared chimney-piece to rear left-hand chamber; some muntin and plank partitions. Slate floors to basement. Original oak floor and roof structures of an interesting type with mortices and tenons for most of the joints: floor structure where visible with cross beams, axial trimmers and cross joists; front roof structure with fat tie beams as cross beams for floor structure, some morticed collars, others lapped and pegged, butt purlins morticed and mostly butt rafters also morticed; roofs ranged round central valley with lead gutter through front attic. Rear roofs with plastered ceilings and parts of plastered trusses and some probable butt purlins visible. Rear attics are chambers; front right-hand attic possibly a chamber originally; front left-hand attic originally plastered throughout and possibly a granary. Basement with original central well with old pump with lead pipe in wooden housing and granite trough (a large 2-cell granite trough with one drain hole and quadrant inner corners in the gardens may have been linked to this pump); large fireplace to left-hand cellar with oak lintel may be the original kitchen (cellar windows blocked). Rear part of cellar is excavated into as much as 4 feet of bed rock (further evidence of plan deepening). Front rooms of house remodelled early C19 with complex-moulded ceiling cornices and 6-panel doors with beaded panels within doorways with moulded architraves and corner blocks. Windows shutters are probably contemporary with the late C19 sashes. INTERIOR of former service wing has C18 four-centred arched wooden surround with moulded cornice to kitchen fireplace and several tiers of hanging brackets above. Subsidiary features: C18 slate-coped rubble walls to road frontage returning to gateway at the bottom. 3 original elliptically-arched doorways, (2 blocked), and doorway near house with late C19 door with remains of older hinges; buttresses flanking doorways. Level of garden greatly increased within walls and inside lower doorway is a timber-framed, weatherboarded and thatched gazebo, probably early C20 with a high vantage point overlooking the town of Launceston. St Stephen's House is important both structurally and architecturally and retains significant features from each period of its development.

Listing NGR: SX3251385620

External Links

• Wikidata Q26490566

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Recommended Books

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  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
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  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)