Description

SX 48 NE LEW TRENCHARD LEW TRENCHARD

4/107 The Manor Hotel
- (formerly listed as Lew House)
14.5.52

GV II*

Hotel, formerly a manor house called "Lew House". Largely the creation of Sabine
Baring-Gould, built between 1881 and circa 1910, incorporating C16 and C17 features
some of which may be original to the house, others imported from elsewhere. Arts and
Crafts Tudor and wholly late C19 in conception. Dressed coursed Raddon stone and
granite with granite dressings. Stone stacks, some with moulded granite strings and
caps. Some ornamental slate-hanging to first floor, slate roofs with sprocketted
eaves, gabled at ends. South-facing H-plan with gabled east and west crosswings and
2-storey central porch. Parallel north range forms rear courtyard. 2 storeys. 7-
window south front, symmetrical overall but irregular in detail with central 2-storey
gabled porch and projecting front east and west wings. In the corner between the
west wing and the main range is a projecting single-storey room, with a battlemented
parapet formerly a separate porch to the west wing (ballroom). The roof is gabled to
the front above this porch. Deep eaves and hollow-chamfered granite mullioned
windows throughout, mostly with hoodmoulds. The ground floor windows have ornamental
leading, square leaded panes to first floor windows. Transomed 5-light ballroom
window, 6-light window to hall, other windows 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-light. Ornamental
slate-hanging in the gable end of the west wing is typical of Baring-Goulds'
buildings in the parish and is swept out over moulded bressumers. 2-storey central
porch has round-headed moulded granite doorway flanked by granite columns on moulded
bases supporting an entablature and 2 panels of armorial bearings framed by paired
granite shafts. Grotesque granite corbel below central pair of shafts. Datestone of
1620 above doorway. The provenance of doorway, porch and datestone is debateable.
3-light granite mullioned window above entablature, 1696 slate sundial in gable.
Linked to the east wing by a coped wall with a circa C17 moulded round-headed granite
gateway is a square 2-storey pavilion with a steeply pitched pyramidal slate roof
with sprocketted eaves. The pavilion has a round-headed granite doorway and
mullioned windows. At the rear of the south range is a semi-hexagonal embattled bay
to the dining room. The north range has a slate roof with sprocketted eaves, gabled
at ends, and on the south side, facing the courtyard, a 5-bay granite loggia of
round-headed arches supported on columns with moulded bases and capitals. The loggia
is modelled on the 1637 almshouses at Moretonhampstead. Plans to erect a massive
granite gateway to the rear courtyard were not executed, some of the moulded jambs
and carved spandrels survive to the west of the house.
Interior The Sabine Baring-Gould interior is almost completely intact, combining C16
and C17 woodwork and C17 plasterwork with late C19 work produced by local craftsmen
on Ruskinian principles, supervised by the owner. The hall chimneypiece is dated
1626 and incorporates caryatids and a circa late C16 frieze of a hunting scene. The
parlour panelling includes Renaissance woodwork and a frieze of paintings of the
virtues executed by Margaret Rowe, nee Baring-Gould. Numerous fine decorated plaster
ceilings, "Why should the ceiling alone be left in hideous baldness?" (Baring-Gould).
The parlour ceiling is particularly elaborate with pendants and preserves its
elaborate late C19 colouring. The long gallery has a canted ceiling incorporating
part of a "magnificent" (Portman) Jacobean ceiling rescued from 38 North Street,
Exeter, enriched with pendants and floral and animal motifs. The C17 plasterwork was
extended on the same pattern by local craftsmen. The ballroom has a spectacular
Rococo fireplace surround, said to be of German origin, with 2-tiers of wreathed
barleysugar columns supporting an entablature. The fireplace surround is flanked by
putti on one side and a sun on the other over panels with large arabesques and
festoon drops. The panelled dado, decorated plaster ceiling, wall pilasters and deep
frieze of plaster motifs under round-headed arches are all late C19/early C20. The
main staircase is dogleg with moulded handrail and carved balusters of square
section.
The Manor of Lew Trenchard was purchased by Henry Gould in 1626. The house and
estate are still in the possession of the Baring-Gould family. The Reverend Sabine
Baring-Gould (1834-1924) was squire of Lew Trenchard and also parson from 1881 until
his death. He was a High Churchman, antiquarian and prolific author of fiction and
theological works. He collected many Devon folksongs at Lew House, to which Cecil
Sharp was a regular visitor. Baring-Gould financed the reconstruction of Lew House
from his writings and the present building is very much a reflection of his own
personality and interests. The Jacobean plaster work is important particularly since
the remainder at 38, North St., Exeter, was largely lost when the house was
demolished in 1972.
Sabine Baring-Gould An old English House (1898)
Bickford H.C. Dickinson Sabine Baring-Gould
Monk and Copeland Lew House Lew Tenchard church and Baring-Gould
D. Portman Exeter Houses, 1400 - 1700 (1966)

Listing NGR: SX4588886068

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17537538

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

• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)