Description

KENN KENN
SX 98 NW

2/195 Chappel Court

11.11.52

GV II

House. Late C16/early C17, remodelled in the late C19. Colourwashed rendered cob
and stone; thatched roof, gabled at left end, half-hipped at front of east wing,
gabled at rear, gabled at end of west wing. C19 additions red sandstone with slate
or asphalt roofs. Left end stack with bread oven to main range which also has a
disused rear lateral stack, lateral stack to east side of east wing, stack to west
wing, end stack to C19 extension to west wing.
Plan: Single depth main range, 2 rooms wide, with a front right (east) wing and rear
left (west) wing. The west wing was extended by a heated service room in the late
C19 and other service rooms were added to the rear of the main range. The house is
traditionally said to have functioned as the house of the chantry priest to the
Courtenay chantry at Kenn. Cresswell notes that the name derives from the chapel of
the castle in Exeter, to which there were 4 prebendaries. The details of the present
building and its internal arrangements are consistent with a high quality domestic
house of the late C16/early C17. Some of the details of the early plan have been
obscured by the late C19 remodelling but it may have been hall in the centre
(possibly with a passage to the left), parlour wing to the east with a fine first
floor chamber, lower end room to the left (west) end with a fine first floor chamber
over; the west wing may have been the kitchen. The C19 alterations have converted
the centre room to an unheated entrance hall containing the stair. Other details in
the house suggest considerable re-partitioning, possibly during a period when the
house is said to have been divided up as cottages.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Symmetrical 3 bay front to the main block with the 1 window
front of the east wing at the right end. Fine early C17 plank, cover strip and stud
front door in the centre with a thatched porch. Complete set of probably C19 3-light
transomed small pane casements, both to the main block and the end and inner -return
of the wing. The left return (including the west wing) has one first floor C17
ovolo-moulded mullioned window, the other windows are C19 or C20 casements with
glazing bars.
Interior: Surviving pre C19 interior features include a deeply-chamfered axial beam
(stops lost in wall plaster) to the left hand room; the remains of 2 fine decorated
plaster ceilings with single ribs and floral sprays, one to the first floor room
left, the other to the first floor room in the east wing, and a good C17 panelled
door to the east wing room. The C19 work is of good quality and includes a grand
imperial stair in the stair hall.
Roof: Apex not inspected at time of survey but roof structure evidently of interest,
and no later than the plasterwork in the east wing. In the west wing jointed crucks
are visible with lap dovetailed collars of a mid/late C17 character.
A high quality house, group value with the church.
Information in the possession of the owner includes letters from Beatrix Cresswell
concerning the origins of the house and a C19 photograph showing the exterior of the
building exactly as it is today.

Listing NGR: SX9216885760

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26593622

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

• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)