Description

KINGSTEIGNTON VICARAGE HILL, Kingsteignton SX 87 SE 5/161 The Chantry and Elmfield

- II*

Former vicarage, divided into 2. Described by the incumbent, Thomas Whipham, as "nearly built" in 1821. Circa late C19/early C20 addition at south east, late C20 alterations. Roughcast stone with a thatched roof with 2 gables to the entrance front; 2 lateral stacks on the south side, stack to central valley. Described by the Georgian Group as "in its original form this was one of the very best examples of the cottage orne genre in the country". Approximately square on plan with corner bows on the garden (west) elevation. 3 rooms wide, 3 rooms deep around a fine full height oval stair well in the centre with a dome. A small entrance hall in the centre to the east leads into the stair well and opposite it, in the centre to the west, is a small sitting room. Flanking the small sitting room are 2 larger principal rooms, oval on plan, probably functioning as a parlour (north) and dining room (south). These 2 rooms are entered from the stair well but sliding doors in the north and south walls of the small sitting room allow the possibility of complete circular access through the stair well and 3 principal west rooms. Access to the principal east rooms (library to the north, probably kitchen to the south) is via the entrance hall. Narrow rooms between parlour and library and kitchen and dining room are of unknown function the latter may have been a butler's pantry. In the late C19/early C20 a service wing was added at the south east corner, presumably removing the kitchen to new quarters and upgrading the south east room to an additional sitting room. The division of the house into 2 has obviously interrupted the circulating plan, both on the ground floor and on the first floor where an oval corridor combined with the stair gallery originally gave access to all the first floor rooms. There has been some loss of interior and exterior features in the late C20. 2 storeys. Fine 3-bay garden (west) elevation with a thatched verandah, the thatch of the roof carried round the left and right corner bows, the verandah following the profile of the elevation and continuing on the north and south returns. Three 2-leaf glazed arched doors on the ground floor with elaborate iron tracery and stained glass, on the first floor the eaves thatch is eyebrowed over 3 first floor 2-light arched windows with elaborate iron tracery. Cobbles laid in patterns beneath the verandah which was formerly supported on rustic posts with struts, the rafters concealed by twisted rustic branches. Most of the posts have been replaced with squared timber uprights. 3 bay north and south elevations with similar doors and windows, the outer windows on the first floor are blocked and may always have been false windows. The verandah is no longer complete on the north and south sides; on the south side it has been partly removed to accommodate the service wing and altered to incorporate a conservatory; on the north side the easternmost bays have been filled in in the 1980s with plastic windows and doors. Interior : 2-leaf timber Gothick arched inner doors to the entrance hall. Splendid oval stair well with a cantilevered stone stair rising to a stair gallery with cast iron Gothick balusters. The stair well is paved with stone. Leading into the small sitting room off the stair well are the paired oak doors of a circa early C16 rood screen, said to have been removed from Kingsteignton parish church. The tracery in the doors is filled with painting to imitate stained glass. Plain arched doorways lead from the stair hall into the parlour and dining room (dining room doorway blocked). The small sitting room has a C20 chimneypiece (possibly concealing the original) and tall timber arched sliding doors to north and south with applied Gothick mouldings, similar mouldings to the shutters. Original marble chimneypieces with Gothick detail survive in both the parlour (north west) and dining room (south west), the dining room chimneypiece is extraordinary in being sited immediately below an original window. Both parlour and dining room have curved panelled doors and original shutters. Some of the bedrooms are especially attractive with plain plaster vaulting to the windows. An outstanding example of a large building in the cottage orne manner combining fine detail with a plan form derived from an C18 emphasis on showpiece and public rooms. Unlike an C18 house, however, the garden front with its verandah is separated from the entrance front, providing seclusion for the garden. The Diocese of Exeter in 1821: Bishop Carey's Replies to Queens Queries before Visitation, volume II : Devon, ed. M Cook, Devon and Cornwall Record Society. New Series, vol 4 (1960).

Listing NGR: SX8746072941

External Links

• Wikidata Q17536183

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Recommended Books

• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)