Description

BIDEFORD

SS42SE TORRINGTON ROAD
842-1/4/245 (South West side)
07/04/87 Halsannery Field Centre
(Formerly Listed as:
TORRINGTON ROAD
Hallsannery House)

II

Large house, now a field centre. Early/mid C19. Solid rendered
walls. Hipped slate roof. Rendered chimneys with panelled
sides.
Double-depth plan, 3 rooms wide with centre hallway running
from main entrance in right side-wall to staircase at rear
centre. Back stairs to rear right, behind which are the
original kitchen and L-shaped service-wing, the latter arcaded
on left side towards a small courtyard. 2 storeys with
cellars; 5-window garden front with 4-window entrance-front to
right. Garden front has flanking pilasters rising to
scroll-bracketed eaves-cornice. 3-light centre window set in
slight projection.
Ground-storey windows have plain surrounds but with cornices
on enriched consoles, the centre window with in addition a
frieze decorated with wreaths. In second storey the outer
windows have moulded architraves, while the centre one had
flanking pilasters. Outer windows in both storeys have 6-paned
sashes, except that the right-hand ground-storey window has
3-paned French windows with a 3-paned fanlight. Centre windows
have 2-paned sashes, except for a 4-paned sash in middle light
of second-storey windows; upper sashes round-headed.
Entrance front similar in character, except that the
ground-storey windows do not have consoles. Large
porte-cochere, probably mostly rebuilt in C20. Above is a
square wooden bay window, probably late C19 or early C20, with
glazing-bars and fluted frieze. Adjoining the right-hand side
is the round-arched stable gateway with flanking pilasters;
within the head of the arch is an open-work screen of
semi-circular panels. On top of it is a bell in a scrolled
iron frame.
INTERIOR retains many original high-quality details. Hallway
has enriched modillion cornice and screen with composite
columns. Geometrical wood stair with thin round balusters
carved with lilies at the base; oval skylight decorated with
plaster lilies and anthemions. The front ground-floor rooms
have the best detail. That to left has an enriched cornice and
frieze; white marble chimneypiece with Egyptian-style columns.
The other 2 rooms have foliated chandelier-bosses, that to
right set in a panelled ceiling. Wood back stairs with
octagonal balusters and newels. Kitchen fireplace with
key-patterned wood surround. Some good later wood
chimneypieces, probably early/mid C20. That in ground-floor
right front room has caryatid-like angel, that in first-floor
rear right room has inset blue Delft tiles.

Listing NGR: SS4570224533

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26571807

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

• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide